The Way Things Were
by Seeress
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] She couldn't understand what was going on. Warnings from her dead grandmother, a recurring dream with haunted eyes, the attempt on her life, and an umprompted attack that could mean war... and somehow, it was all a part of her destiny.
1. Prologue

Escaflowne: The Way Things Were 

_Disclaimer__:_ I don't own the characters of Escaflowne and I don't make any claim to them, so PLEASE don't sue me. The characters of Escaflowne belong to their respective owners, but some of the characters are of my own imaginings and the plot of the story is mine, so please don't copy it.

******************* Prologue 

              _' It's been nearly 21 years since I last visited Earth,' _Hitomi thought imploringly. 

_' I wonder how my parents are doing.'_ She tried to imagine what her parents would look like, and laughed at herself when the only image that came to mind were a couple of very old people, helping each other to walk. She herself was almost 40, but she was still very beautiful. She had shoulder length brown hair, and her green emerald eyes shone as brightly as ever. She had grown quite a bit, as a person and also as a Queen.

_' I hope they're alright.' _She smiled as she reflected on all the things that had happened to her ever since she came back to Gaea. She thought of Van and the people of Fanelia. She remembered how they all rejoiced when Van had announced their engagement to the country. She remembered their wedding, remembered the first time that she had been bestowed as Queen of Fanelia. It was a wonderful feeling, giving her warmth inside. She had a lovely year until one day, when she found out, to her surprise, that she was pregnant! The people exploded with joy when the news leaked out that Fanelia was going to have a successor to the throne. The Fanelians who had seen the Great War had been impressed that Van could mature so quickly, and had rebuilt Fanelia far beyond it's former glory. He had led search parties himself to find the people of Fanelia and return them to their homeland. Hitomi had been filled with joy the first time she saw Fanelia after its destruction, she wasn't expecting anything so beautiful and full of life.

They had kept in touch with their old friends: Allen, Millerna, Dryden, Chid, and the rest of the people who helped during the Great War. Fanelia, Asturia, and Freid soon became very close allies. Hitomi returned to find that Allen and Millerna had gotten married, making Allen King of Asturia. Hitomi found that Allen had changed somehow, but he was still the gentleman that he had been before. Soon after Allen had married Millerna, Celena and Dryden announced their engagement plans. Allen was shocked and displeased when he found out, openly mentioning his dislike for Dryden. But Celena begged Allen to let her marry Dryden and in the end, Allen gave in to his sister's begging and gave her his approval. He tried to put up with Dryden, avoiding him if possible, but on the rare occasions that they did run into each other, it was obvious to anyone that Allen rather loathed him.

Hitomi lifted her eyes and stared silently at the Mystic Moon. Her thoughts then wandered to her daughter. She remembered the day that Varie was born. She remembered holding her for the first time, feeling her warm body press against her. Varie mainly took after Van, having his raven hair, magenta eyes and angel like wings. But her feminine qualities and her power to predict the future, she'd gotten from Hitomi. Many people watched Varie grow up, and they often commented on her beauty, grace and poise. Many had offered engagements with their sons when Varie was only four years old, but Van had politely declined them, saying that Varie would choose who she would marry by herself when the time came. By the age of fourteen, Varie was already helping her father make decisions for the country. She sat in on council meetings, listened to the daily reports, and would offer solutions that she thought were best. She was like a goddess to the Fanelians, and they praised and commended her like she could do no wrong. There was never a time that Varie could go into the busy streets of Fanelia without someone recognizing her, even when she had thought up disguise after disguise to ensure her privacy. Varie loved the people of Fanelia, but sometimes she needed to be alone, somewhere quiet, outside the castle and in the fresh air.

              _' She's all grown up now,'_ Hitomi thought proudly.

Varie was almost 20 now, her birthday coming up in a couple of days. Fanelia was having a grand party to celebrate, inviting all the leaders of Gaea to attend. Varie had to marry to become Queen, but she hadn't shown the slightest sign of interest to any of the young princes that offered for her hand in marriage. Varie was a quiet and shy girl at times, preferring not to attend big parties and be the center of attention. She made friends easily enough, but almost none of them were of nobility.

              Hitomi turned around and went back into her room. She went in front of her dresser, and pulled open a drawer. Inside was a beautiful wooden box. It had intricate carvings of winged people, in a place assumed to be Atlantis. An old woman wearing a dark, hooded cloak bumped into Hitomi in the marketplace one day, and had handed her the box, telling her to use it well. She lifted the lid and inside laid her tarot cards; punctiliously kept so that it was almost imperceptible that they had been used at all. She hadn't touched them since she returned to Gaea, finding no need for them in a time of peace. Hitomi lifted her hand and ran her forefinger along the back of the top card. All at once, images started flashing through her head. Guymelefs, soldiers, battles, war… The tarot cards slipped out of her hand. All of them fell face down except for one. Shakily, Hitomi bent down and picked up the card.

_' The Tower! Oh no! Varie! I knew this would happen soon.'_

Hitomi clasped her hands together and silently wished. She looked up at the Mystic Moon again, and sent a silent message.

' It all depends on what happens on your birthday, Varie. And it also depends on how you handle the situation when the time comes. Be true to yourself, and be true to your heart. A great obstacle lies in your path, and it will not be easy to overcome. You must trust yourself. I know you won't let us down.'


	2. An Unexpected Reunion

Chapter 1:

An Unexpected Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Escaflowne, and make no claim to them. Escaflowne belongs to its respective owners, but any new characters introduced are of my own creation and I ask that you do not copy them. The plot is also mine, and any similarity/ies with any other fanfiction is/are entirely coincidental.

*******************

**V**arie stood on the balcony that overlooked Fanelia, staring longingly at the capital city of Strategos below. Varie had been told that this was the nickname of her uncle Folken, who had died near the end of the Great War. She watched the townspeople and merchants in the bazaar beyond the palace gates, seeing them go about their lives. A movement caught her eye, and her gaze shifted to two siblings playing together. They laughed and joked, messed up each other's hair, and played a friendly game of tag. How she envied them; so joyful and carefree. She had been like that once, until the responsibility of being the sovereign of a country had been handed to her. She wanted to be like that again. She wanted to enjoy life. But as fate would have it, nothing was going to go her way.

_Fate._ She smiled at the word. Fate was the thing that almost destroyed Gaea, but it was also the thing that had brought her parents together. 

_Fate,_ she thought again. _How ironic._

**H**er attention then turned back to the busy marketplace, as she looked at her favourite bakery shop, famous for its custard creams. She had met the owner of the shop, and found her to be a very kind and generous person. She had told Varie about her children, and seemed so happy to live the life she had. A group of people exited the bakery, and she recognized a freckled-faced, redheaded young man immediately. Jared was new to Strategos; he used to live on the outskirts of Fanelia in the forest. He quickly became a sentry in her Father's army and was in charge of delivering notices to the citizens. She could guess the contents of the notice, most likely an invitation to the City Square to celebrate her 20th birthday. Almost everyone was happy, but Varie didn't know how she felt. She wasn't in the least bit happy, but to say that she was sad didn't describe her mood either. She heaved a sigh, thinking about the course of her future. She was the only successor to the throne, so naturally she would become Queen. She was expected to marry soon, the Advisors thinking it wise for Fanelia to have a King, not wanting her to rule alone. Marriage proposals came in by the dozen every day, coming mainly from princes and wealthy merchants who thought themselves to be quite the aristocrats. The letters were heaped on her desk, and she would have to start politely declining them soon. 

**H**er attention shifted again, this time toward the mountains and the forest, as if looking hopelessly at the stretch of lush green would help to console her, and save her from herself. She often wished, at times, that she weren't born a princess, so she would be able to live life to its fullest, and not have to worry that her every action, every word she spoke, could somehow affect her country. Sighing again, she looked up to the endless blue sky, and the twin moons shining valiantly there. Her mother had told her countless stories about her home origin, about the people that lived there, about machines and technology. Technology would help Gaea, and Varie had asked her mother why she didn't introduce it to the people. Her mother had answered that technology pollutes the environment, and in the long run it does more damage than good. That made sense, but Varie would be delighted to be able to see a 'computer.' 

Varie eyed a small sundial to her left, indicating that it was almost 2 o'clock. The hot afternoon sun was making her hazy, and she didn't notice a figure stepping out from the shadows behind her.

"Here again, I see," said the voice.

Varie, startled, almost fell over the railing. A firm hand grabbed her to prevent that from happening.

"Do you want to scare me to death, Mattie?" Varie asked her best friend. The cat-girl just stared back at her and smiled, brushing a strand of reddish-pink hair from her face.

"Of course not. I didn't even try to sneak up on you. You were just too deep in thought to notice me."

Turning to face her friend, Varie couldn't help but smile. Her friend stood, shoulders back, hands on hips, giving her a disapproving look that meant she knew only too well what Varie was thinking about. It was no wonder they were best friends; Mattie always cheered her up, just by being herself. Mattie's mother, Merle, was a childhood friend of her father's, so it was natural that they would be friends. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Varie tried to ask innocently. The you-know-what-I'm-talking-about glare she received back told her Mattie didn't buy her act. 

"Why are you spending so much time pondering over this? You knew it would happen sooner or later. Instead of coming here every chance you got, try something that'll make you feel better!" Mattie scolded. "But it's so frustrating! I don't want to get married to some pig-headed, snobby prince who has fluff for brains and relies on his advisors!" At the last remark, Mattie laughed. Her laughter seemed to take away Varie's problems, so that she too started to laugh, and they continued to laugh for a long time after. Finally able to catch her breath and talk properly, Varie smiled gently.

"Thanks, Mattie. I needed that. Oh, I feel great now!"

"See? You should learn to take my advice once in a while, even if you're going to be a queen."

Varie nudged her friend playfully in the stomach.

"Well the last time I took your advice, Father almost had my head!" Varie teased, remembering only too well the incident when they were younger, which sent both girls into another fit of giggles. After they stopped laughing, Mattie produced from no where a small rectangular box, wrapped in silver paper with golden stars, and tied with curly gold ribbon.

"I almost forgot to give this to you. Happy Birthday, ahead of time since I probably won't get to see you on your birthday," Mattie said with a grin.

"Oh, Mattie, you shouldn't have gone to all the trouble," Varie said apologetically.

"Trouble?" Mattie's eyes spelled laughter. "It was no trouble. I had it made especially for you. Go on and open it already. See what it is!" Mattie said excitedly.

Carefully pulling back the wrapping paper so as not to rip it, Varie revealed a small wooden box with the letter "F" engraved on the lid. She opened it, and inside velvety blue lining was a figurine made of glass. Light danced on the figure, making it sparkle and shine. Varie gasped at its magnificence, as she lifted up her fragile present in her slender fingers. It was the figure of a man, a tall broadening man with a set face and fathomless eyes, with what looked like a tattoo of a tear underneath the right eye. His hair, which ran a little below his shoulders, was slightly spiked at the top. An arrogant chin finished his features, which gave him the impression of a sovereign who was unafraid of anything. The man was wearing a long cloak, although his arms were open as though welcoming her to his invisible kingdom, beckoning her to enter his world. His right arm, she noticed, didn't appear natural. It looked fake somehow, more mechanical than human. She could guess who this man was, even if she weren't told anything about him. She could sense that she somehow knew him, that they were blood related, both part of the Draconian race. Mattie, standing behind her friend and looking over her shoulder, broke the silence that seemed to surround the two when Varie had opened her present. 

"Well, do you like it?" she asked uncertainly.

"Like it? Oh, Mattie, I love it. Thank you so much," replied a very grateful Varie.

As she moved to put the figurine back in its box, Varie noticed something she hadn't noticed in there before: a small handwritten note. A small grin formed on her face as she carefully opened and read the note; _To the best future queen there could ever be._ Varie couldn't help but smile.

"Well, it's true," Mattie beamed. "You'll be a great queen! You're good at everything. Politics, sparring, and you really understand—"

Varie's eyes went wide with shock.

"What did you just say?"

"Well, I was going to say that you really understand the people before you cut me off—"

"No, before that. Did you say sparring?"

"Yes, why?" Mattie asked, having no clue whatsoever as to why her friend was so distressed. 

Pushing Mattie out of the way so that she would be able to see the sundial, Varie gasped when she saw the time.

"Oh, no," she groaned. "It's half past three already. My sparring session was supposed to start half an hour ago. I'll never be able to explain this."

And with that, she ran off, grabbing her birthday present and leaving a half-confused Mattie behind her. Mattie only shook her head, bemused by her friend, before she bound up onto the railing, and jumped away with feline grace. 

*******************

**V**arie had walked out of the training room a few hours later covered in sweat, tired, and very bruised. Her swordmaster Remus was teaching her new and much more complicated sparring techniques and movements, and all the exercise was visibly taking its toll on her. She was even surprised that her father let her spar in the first place; she highly suspected her mother and Remus had something to do with it. Her skill was improving very quickly, and she could defeat all of the guards and samurai of the castle, all of them, except Remus. Varie continued absentmindedly walking past the guards posted in the halls as they bowed to her, heading toward her room. Was it just her imagination, or were the castle halls longer and emptier than usual? Maybe it was her shirt, annoyingly clinging to her making her feel uncomfortable. Maybe she was just really tired, and needed to get some rest. But somehow that didn't seem to be the case.

_Something feels so strange today, _she thought to herself as she continued walking. _I just can't quite put my finger on it. _

She arrived in front of her room, only to find there were no guards posted there.

_Now I **know **something's wrong. Father's so protective of me; he'd never leave my room unguarded._

She was definitely going to find out what was going on, but first she needed a bath and some newer clothes. She picked out a lavender sleeveless dress, with a darker purple bodice. After she finished her bath, she put on the dress, dried and did her hair, put on some shoes, and strapped her trusty dagger a little above her knee. She didn't go anywhere without this dagger, not that she was paranoid about someone hurting her; she was just used to the feeling of the knife where it was, and it was sort of like a lucky charm for her. Just as she turned to leave, she noticed a note sitting on her bedside table. She picked it up, and quickly read through it.

_Dear Varie,_

_Our council meeting is cancelled for today. That must be blissful news for you._

At this, Varie smiled. Her father knew her too well.

_Do as you wish for the late afternoon. You shouldn't have too much time to spend before dinner. I have some… urgent business to take care of. I would have liked you to come, but I would be late if I had waited for you. I'll be back by dinnertime. You'll be in for a surprise when I get back. And please, do behave yourself. That goes for Mattie as well. _

_Loving you always,_

_Your Father_

_xoxoxoxoxo_

_Urgent business? _Varie thought to herself. _What could be so urgent that Father had to cancel a council meeting?_

She wanted to ponder in her thoughts some more, so she decided to go outside for the little time she had before the loud, resounding bell would ring, announcing dinnertime. The soft, cool breeze brushing against her face was an indicator that evening was fast approaching. She decided to head to the gardens, the fresh air and scent of the flowers always cheered her up. She didn't even arrive at the entrance of the garden yet when the loud tolling of a bell shocked her out of her reverie.

"Already?" she whispered quietly under her breath. "It's already dinnertime?"

She figured she must have gotten the wrong time from her sundial; after all, she only took a quick glance. She didn't put much thought into the matter though, and just headed back on the path she came, walking in the direction of the castle. She entered through the main doors, opened for her by a guard stationed there. Her footsteps resounded off the cold, stone walls, now that she was wearing her regular high-heeled shoes instead of her training boots. The hall was unusually quiet, and Varie figured that everyone had already entered the dining room, and she wondered if her father was back. She was a little eager to find out exactly what this 'surprise' was. She fantasized, drawn into her dreamworld of the perfect gift, that she didn't notice where she was going and bumped into something solid. She staggered backwards and fell, immediately drawn out of her haze. At first she thought she had walked into a wall, with all the attention she was paying to where she was going that was highly likely. But when she saw a pair of shoes in front of her, she realized she had bumped into a person.

"I'm so sorry," she said quickly, trying to get up.

"It's alright, princess," answered a very calm voice with an edge of humour in it. The person offered her a hand, and gladly took it, finally looking up to clearly see the person for the first time. The man in before her was well-built, tall, lean, and muscular. He had broad shoulders, and gleaming golden hair that reflected even the dim light of the castle. He had a handsome face, intelligent-looking and kind. And his eyes… Varie found herself staring into the most ever-familiar, crystal-blue eyes.

*******************

_Author's Notes: _If anyone is even reading this, what do you think of the story so far? I know it's mainly all-talk, no action so far, but I promise something will happen in the next chapter… maybe the chapter after that. Thank you to Destiny Babee for reviewing my prologue, otherwise this chapter wouldn't of even been written. I would really appreciate reviews, but I suppose I'll keep writing even if I don't get them.

Anyways, I might take a while with my chapters, there are two other stories I'm currently working on besides this one… but I'll try to update, and please, REVIEW!!!

~Seeress~


	3. Flames

The Way Things Were Chapter 2 

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Esca, but I envy the people who do.

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In a distant somewhere on Earth, a man with a dark coat walked into a small tavern and ordered a drink. His features were bold, easily recognizable. His red hair was cut short, neatly trimmed but slightly spiked at the top, giving it the impression of a flame. His grey eyes were like a cat's, cold and very watchful. Under his right eye, a small tattoo of a blood-red tear was visible. He stared unseeingly at the fire crackling happily in the hearth, and only looked up when the bartender handed him his drink. He sipped slowly at his mulled ale, feeling it warm him up. After he was finished, he left his money on the counter for the bartender to pick up, and headed back out into the chilly evening air of winter. The snow was falling gently, and it covered everything in a thick blanket of white. The man slipped his hand into his coat pocket, and pulled out a pocket watch with a gold chain. It was not an ordinary watch; there were all sorts of intricate astrological symbols where the numbers should be, and instead of two hands of a clock there were nine arrows. The watch seemed to make sense to the man, and after a quick glance at it, he started walking further into the forest. Natural sounds of the night could be heard along with the heavy footsteps of the man. He stopped walking when he believed that he was far enough from any surrounding abodes on the isolated hilltop, and once again consulted his watch. He waited; the arrows of the clock seemed to all be moving in a different directions and had their own pace and movement pattern. He stood in a small clearing in the dense mountainous forest, totally unafraid of the many pairs of animal eyes watching him from behind the trees. He smirked slightly, as the arrows met where the North point on a compass should be, and a blinding pillar of light came down to envelope him.

*******************

"Uh…" Varie could only stare at those mesmerizing eyes. She knew she'd seen them before, but she had no idea who she was staring at. She had to admit he was very handsome, and judging from his clothes he had to be of royalty. Then she knew he had to be another one of those annoying princes who kept sending her proposal letters, even after she had declined. That made her decide not to be nice to this man.

"Are you alright, princess?" he asked, sounding quite concerned.

"It was a mere fall. I'm perfectly alright, thank you," she answered curtly. She was about to ask him his name, but figured it would be rude of her if she had met him before and didn't remember him, even if she didn't want to be nice to him. So she'd stayed quiet, and took the arm he offered to take her to the dining hall. The guards there bowed their respect, and opened the grand arched doors to the dining room. Everyone stopped eating and turned to look as the two entered, and even though she was used to being in the spotlight by now, Varie felt her cheeks warm and knew she must be blushing. She glanced around the room, and saw the all-familiar faces: her father's personal advisor Lord Eronai, the members of the counsel, her sword master and Captain of the Imperial Castle Samurai Lord Remus, her father and mother, King Allen and Queen Millerna—

_King Allen and Queen Millerna?!?! _She almost tripped on the trim of her gown. The King and Queen of Asturia were present, and she still thought they were probably somewhere in the middle of the forest travelling. She thought that her father would definitely be mad at her for not being there to greet the royal guests, but then figured that that was probably what his 'urgent business' was. The Asturian royals weren't due for another day; they came to Fanelia to take part in the celebrations of Varie's birthday. She was surprised that Gabriel wasn't there; when she was younger, the Asturians used to visit them often, but at the age of 13 Gabriel had gone off with his sword master and they traveled around Gaea, before settling to stay on a secluded island for the past 5 years. Gabriel had returned home not too many moons prior, and had been busy catching up on the latest hearsay about Gaea. She wondered how much he had changed since she last saw him seven years ago, if he was still the immature little monster who loved burning the tips of her hair and publicly embarrassing her. Her escort bowed to her before leaving her and went to stand beside King Allen. When the King saw her, her got up and came to give her a friendly hug.

"Oh, my dear, how beautiful you look," he said, taking her hand and lightly touched his lips to it. "I see you two have already gotten reacquainted," he smiled, half musing.

Varie was more than a little lost. _What did he mean, 'reacquainted?'_ she wondered.

Her thoughts must have appeared on her face because the King merely smiled and asked, "You remember Gabriel, don't you Princess?"

She gasped, but it was so soft that no one heard it. So that was who he was! No wonder she thought she knew him; she had spent most of her childhood playing with him. He walked up and claimed her hand once again, lightly kissing it just as his father had. He flashed her a brilliant smile, and Varie felt the warmth return to her cheeks. He hadn't let go of her hand, and proceeded to accompany her to her seat. She complied, amazed that the 'little brat' she had once known had grown up to be quite the gentleman. As he pulled out her chair for her, and as she was about to sit down, he whispered softly in her ear.

"You look astounding, Princess. I do hope to get reacquainted with you." And after he had pushed her chair back in, he returned to his own seat across from hers and everyone started eating again. Varie made it seem like there was something interesting in her plate besides from the delicious-looking food. She could sense that Gabriel was staring at her, and although she was very flattered, she felt it uncomfortable to eat her food when someone was watching the entire time. She listened in to the political conversation between her father and King Allen, but found that it was almost the same as the talks she had to listen to during counsel meetings. Needing a distraction, she looked over at the others eating at the table. She locked eyes with Lord Remus, and he winked at her. Feeling a little more at ease, she decided she'd better eat, whether she was being watched or not. 

Dinner ended an uneventful hour later. Varie was exhausted, the corners of her mouth, which she had to force up to hold a smile, felt sore and strangely numb. She walked half blindly to her room, not even taking notice of the guards who bowed to her. The climb up the wide stone stairs seemed longer than usual, and the different coloured tapestry contrasting against the grey-black stone of the walls seemed to make her woozy. She fought to keep her eyelids open, jerking her head back violently every time she felt she was dozing off. Finally she reached her room, where she walked right up to her bed, collapsed on it, and instantly fell asleep.

*******************

The blinding blue column of light disappeared around the man, and he looked up to see two beautiful moons in the sky; those moons told him that he was home. Breathing in the scent of Gaean surroundings, the man took off his cloak to reveal navy blue trousers and armour crested with the symbol of his organization complete with a finely made sword hanging loosely at his hip. He retrieved the golden watch for the third time, and studied it intently. This time, all the arrows pointed in a different direction before spinning wildly and lining up to point North East. The man moved in that direction, before stopping and placing the watch on the ground in front of him. The arrows spun faster, and out of nowhere a gigantic fortress appeared. The man grinned, picked up the watch, and headed through the doors to where his master was waiting.

"You're back early," his chief stated, but he knew what the underlying meaning was.

"Things are running smoothly, sir. Victory shall be ours," the redheaded man stated.

"Good. That's what I like to hear. We mustn't fail; many people depend on us."

"Understood." And with a salute to his master's back, he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

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_Author's Notes:_ Yes, I know, I'm evil. I haven't updated in such a long time. You can thank my teachers for all the tests I have to study for and all my homework. I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing, and even if it was please review and tell me how to make it better. And for all those people who are wondering when I will update Heart of a Knight, I'm gonna start working on the next chapter right now. Oh and BTW, can somebody please R&R my fic Restraints? I'd really appreciate it!

That's all for now.

~Seeress

P.S. If there are any typos or grammar mistakes, it's cause I was in a hurry to get this chapter up. I'll edit this later.


	4. When Dreams are Nightmares

The Way Things Were 

_Disclaimer:_ You know the drill: I don't own Escaflowne.

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The Way Things Were

Chapter 3

She twisted and turned. Those dreams were returning, coming back to haunt her. It hadn't taken her long to fall asleep, but her subconscious mind had not rested. Now she saw everything. Her mind spoke of things, unimaginable and horrid things, while she was sleeping. She saw again the fighting, everything covered in blood. Shadows whispered to her, cries of pure dement and torture. She saw the victims of the war, all of them, and witnessed their demise. A flash of light and it was gone, to be replaced by that moaning and wailing, and those eyes. Those eyes, begging, pleading her to help. Digging deep within her soul, they saw her. Saw **her**, without her title and fake alias. Eyes of a beautiful stranger: the eyes of life and death. Eyes that held so much, yet concealed themselves so well. She wanted to reach out and touch them, provide condolence but knew that it was impossible. Then that voice would accompany those eyes; that soft, imploring voice would talk to her. 

Please… please… help me… 

*******************

Varie bolted from underneath her sheets and sat up straight. Her body was drenched in sweat, and she was breathing hard. She absentmindedly ran a hand through her long raven hair, then warily rubbed her eyes. It had been years since she last had that dream. Years. And now it came back at full blast, just like it had the first time she ever dreamt of those eyes. She couldn't understand its message the first time, but didn't bother to try to figure it out since the dream went away not long afterwards. And now it was back, trying to send her a message she didn't understand. She stretched backwards, and her neck cracked loudly. She was very tense, and she could feel it. 

Deciding she needed to get her thoughts straight, she threw back the covers and got up. She walked over to her balcony, and opened the door. Invigoratingly, the cool night's air brushed against her face, and instantly Varie felt better. She decided to go out for a while, to get her thoughts straight. She walked back in, and quickly got dressed in her trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, both too big for her. She took no notice, and after she had firmly strapped her dagger onto her knee, she walked once again onto her balcony. Checking that no one was around, Varie concentrated her thoughts, and felt the tightness in her back rise. She concentrated harder, and out of her back burst out a pair of wings as white as snow. A few downy feathers fell, and floated slowly to land on her balcony. One drifted in front of her, and she opened her palm for it to land on. She pocketed it; it would be a gift to a very close friend of hers. 

She was about to jump and be off when she realized she'd forgotten something, the most important and only thing she had to contact her friend with. Turning back, she opened a long, thin, wooden case. With hardly any light in the room, Varie felt through the velvet lining for the familiar feel of cold metal against her skin. When she'd found it, she held it firmly in her grasp, and walked out toward the balcony once more. In the moonlight, the silver metal glimmered beautifully in the night. She smiled contentedly, then headed off. 

The moons provided her just enough light to see, and made everything seem so eerily majestic. The landscape below her, and the looming trees of the ever-nearing forest could never be seen in the perspective she was seeing them any time in daylight. The darkness seemed to bring with it hidden beauty, only seen by one who appreciates the dark, or one who does not fear it.

Her eyes searched through the dense cover of trees until they spotted the tiny clearing that they had seen so often a time. This was the place she came for condolence; her friend was here, and she was always willing to listen and always understood. On the days she wasn't, just the company and silent friendship from the surrounding trees was enough. That was all she needed to make her happy. 

She slowed her pace, gliding down and flapping her wings in reverse to steady her descent. She felt her bare feet make contact with the smooth sea of grass, and quickly retracted her wings. Her back muscles were cramped, and she didn't need her wings to crowd what little space she had to loosen and relax them.

She walked over to her familiar sitting place, on top of a large boulder with a smooth surface she could sit on. Once she was comfortably settled, she took the instrument she still possessed in her hand, held it to her lips, and played. The flute sounded lofty, as much as the trees looked. She played the tune she knew since she was born, a tune they called the tune of the Dragons, a tune with a sad and happy melody all at the same time; she played the song of Fanelia.

She continued to play, waiting for her friend to arrive. Actually, she was more like a guardian, watching her and keeping her safe from behind the shadows. Soon, she felt the familiar thumping on the ground, and knew that at any moment her friend's large form would appear. As foretold, the scaly hide of the atypical dragon emerged, a yellowish-green eye watching her as she played. It stopped walking, and came to stand right before her, staring at her expectantly. She kept on playing, taking no notice of the dragon, waiting for it to speak to her.

_Draconian Mistress, what brings you out here at this time of night?_

The dragon didn't actually talk, but she rather sensed its feelings and emotions in her head. It was like telepathy, but with a dragon, and with colours and sensations instead of words. 

Varie could only smile. She had been trying to no avail to get her friend to call her anything other than that. But it seemed that her friend was as stubborn, and if it were possible, even more stubborn than she was, and insisted on calling her by her 'proper' title, so she'd given up. 

Varie had found that her friend was a very special dragon. Even though they were both part of the dragon race, she could only talk to dragons with the same special ability as her. When she spoke back however, she didn't use their mind-reading form of speech. Instead she spoke out loud.

"Himitsu," she smiled. She had learned that in her mother's native language used on the Mystic Moon, it meant secret. She decided to name her dragon friend that, because that was what their friendship was. A secret. 

"I just couldn't sleep," she sighed warily. Then she decided to use her mind-speech language to talk to Himitsu instead.

_That dream's back again._ She relayed her thoughts. _I keep seeing him, and he keeps begging me to save him. When he looks at me, it's like he sees my soul._ She paused for a moment, and waited to see if she'd get any reaction from the silent dragon. When she got none, she decided to continue.

_I don't understand. Why? It just doesn't make sense. Why me? I see a war before me, and then I witness the murders of innocents in a battle. Those souls wander around aimlessly in my dreams, but this one…_ she paused, trying to think of the right words to describe her dreams.

He's not dead. I can feel it. He's alive, somewhere out there. He's calling out to me, and I can't do anything to help him. I just… I just feel so… powerless.

She got a reaction from this, as she felt Himitsu 'laugh.'

Powerless? You're the last remaining descendant of the draconian race, and if your powers had been properly trained you would be the supreme power of this world. 

_But they aren't, are they?_ Varie retorted back. _ I don't have any power._

You'll be the Queen of our homeland Fanelia soon. Even with no magical powers, your political status would be very great in the world.

_Political status?_ Varie paused. _How did you learn about the political system of Gaea?_

She felt the dragon grin.

Oh, I have my ways, Mistress. I know a lot more than you think.

You have your ways? What else do you know that you're not telling me about? She asked suspiciously. Why do you find it so surprising that I know about politics, Mistress? 

Because you're a dragon, for goodness's sakes! You're not supposed to be studying the living conditions of humans! 

When she felt Himitsu speak next she knew she had hurt her feelings, for the colours and sensations she was receiving were dull and gloomy.

Why do you find it so hard for me to know about you, Mistress? To know about the way you live and the human part of this world?

**_I'm not human!_** She practically screamed in her head. _I'm some cursed, in-between life form with no meaning to its existence, _she spat out. 

_Is that what you think?_ Himitsu asked, only now understanding how her friend felt. _You think your wings are a curse to you, that your gifts and being a direct descendant of the Atlantians are a curse to you?_

_You think it's a blessing?_ She asked sadistically.

I would love to have what you do, Mistress. Why not make the best of what you have? 

And then the dragon had turned back, retreated into the thick cover of the trees, leaving her by herself with her more confused thoughts. She had come out here to make herself feel better, but now she felt a million times worse. Why was it that everything seemed to turn against her lately? Now her only secret friend was mad at her.

Sighing heavily, she presumed she'd better get back. If she were reported missing, then it would lead to tricky questions she would have to avoid in order not to expose Himitsu. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her silver flute, and sprouted her wings. Kicking off the ground hard, she took off into the dark night sky.

From behind a tree nearby, a pair of steel cold grey eyes watched, as Varie took off, very interested by the panorama between the Princess and the dragon he had just witnessed.

********************

_Author's Notes:_ All of you are probably wondering whether this chapter had a point to it or not. To answer your question, I will only write stuff that is relevant to the story. I am a little saddened by the lack of reviews last chapter, but I decided to get this up early (I couldn't keep the ideas up in my head much longer, anyways.) So, I hope you enjoyed. Please tell me if there are any typos, spelling/grammar, and stuff. Meghanna Starsong, I tried to take your advice (about those paragraphs.) Tell me if I did any better.

Well, gotta go work on the next chapter of Shadow of the Revolution. Please review this chapter; I really need feedback!

~Seeress.


	5. Promises

The Way Things Were

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_ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPPLY._

The Way Things Were

Chapter 4

Duchess Celena walked around the spacious leviship, staring out the windows at the landscape below them. Her delicate fingers entwined her jade necklace* subconsciously. She didn't know when she got the necklace, or even where and how. She had missed many years in her life from the time when she was young until she was 15. She hadn't known what had happened to her; all she remembered between her childhood and teenage years was exiting a damaged guymelef wearing armor with the crest of another country on it. She didn't understand it at all, and all her brother told her was that she had been taken away from him and used as their pawn. He never elaborated what he meant by 'used as **their** pawn,' and looked very distressed when the subject was brought up. Allen had promised she'd never be taken away from him again, that she would never be alone. Celena, being the loving sister she was, didn't have the heart to pry about the matter and took his word for it.

This was the last day of their trip; they were scheduled to arrive in Fanelia in a couple of hour's time, hopefully to make it in time for lunch. Celena was also going to join in at the big celebrations honouring the princess Varie's 20th birthday. She could not believe how fast the years had gone by. It seemed only yesterday the little princess was sitting in her lap and enjoying picnics with her; now she was all grown up. The trip meant a lot to her; she had treated the Fanelian princess like a niece, and was glad to be able to see her again, along with her long-time friends. The fact she missed a few day's worth of paperwork was an added bonus. 

Walking past the melef hangar, a jolt was sent through her bones. She stopped walking, and the rhythmic sound of her shoes against the metal floor faded and died. There was nothing there, just some plain guymelefs along with her brother's Sherezade. He had been in a rush to get to Fanelia earlier than the predetermined time, so he had taken the fastest possible leviship. Unfortunately the leviship did not have a melef hangar, and although parting with his melef was something her brother disliked to do, he didn't have much of a choice. 

_It's that feeling again,_ Celena thought with despair. _Why do I always get that feeling around guymelefs?_

She clenched her fists, and her hands trembled slightly. For the past 20 years of her life she had been getting this feeling, as if an urge inside her wanted to run to those guymelefs and battle in them. Sometimes, she acted without knowing what she was doing. She lost control, and it was as if another force propelled her movements. But for the moment, she forced herself to turn around and walk away. Hesitantly, her body obeyed her commands, and she pivoted on her foot, smacking right into a person.

At first she had thought that it was her husband Dryden, but on a second look found that it was not Dryden at all.

"Are you alright, Duchess?" he asked inquisitively.

"Y-yes, thank you, Gaddess," her voice wavered ever so slightly.

_Why does brother have to request that he accompany me on every trip? _She mentally pleaded.

Before she had married Dryden, she had met Gaddess. He was considerate, charming, kind, and soon their friendship had developed into something more.  Much more. Gaddess, after they had been seeing each other for a while, was prepared to marry her, to propose and ask her to become his wife. Celena had been thrilled, but she couldn't find the words to say. When she finally did find them, she found that she was turning down his proposal, refusing the one thing she had been dreaming of ever since she had met him. 

That was the one thing she had hated herself for doing, but she didn't really think **she** had done that. The force within her was stirring at the time, and it had pushed away her chance of happiness with Gaddess. Every time she tried to talk to him afterward, he would seem different, detached. Never again did he call her Celena; never again did he tease her or talk to her. She missed his warmth, his companionship. But he would not talk to her without the title, always calling her 'Duchess' instead of by her name. Her brother hadn't known of their relationship, and for his sake they had stayed friends and upon speaking terms with each other, although every time she talked to him she would notice the sadness in those eyes. He always looked at her as if she had lied and betrayed him, and he would keep looking at her like that forevermore. 

She looked up, only to be met by those sad eyes. To anyone else, he seemed indifferent, but she could see past his disguise. She wanted to say something to him, wanted to comfort him. But the force would not relinquish, and she found herself powerless to stop it.

_Why do I care?_ Celena asked herself._ Do I still love him?_ _Is there any chance that he could still love me?_

He had taken her hand now, and kissed the back of it softly. Shivers ran up and down her spine, a tickling sensation covering her all over. She didn't understand why she reacted the way she did to his touch. Just being next to him was enough to make her heart pound. 

"What would you be doing around here at this time of day, Duchess?" his solemn voice broke her thoughts.

Quietly, she tried to answer his question without getting tongue-tied.

"I was… awake… so I decided to walk around a bit. Somehow, I ended up here," she finished truthfully. 

"Ah… I see," he replied in almost a monotone voice, turning his gaze to look up at the resting giants. She observed him as he observed the guymelefs. 

His features had hardly changed, and neither did his personality. He was in charge of the Imperial Asturian Leviship Fleet, but he was also captain to the _Contender,_ a leviship her brother had bestowed upon him. He seemed to look upon the melefs with trust and respect, especially when his gaze was fixed on Sherezade. Her guess was he admired the melef as much as he admired her brother.

Something in his eyes changed at that instant, and she heard him heave a sigh. Then he suddenly turned toward her, stepping closer so that they were merely inches apart. He looked straight into her eyes, and his hands held her own. 

"Duchess…." 

She cringed that he had called her Duchess again, but was surprised at the tenderness in his voice. He seemed to want to say more, but the words never came. Inside her, she was pleading for him to continue, to tell her he loved her. The confession never came, and she found that tears were starting to form behind her eyes.

_Oh god, don't cry,_ she told herself. _Don't cry._

She tried to blink the tears back, and was almost successful except for a single teardrop rolling down her cheek. She felt his rough hands cup her cheeks, and wipe away the tear. She tried to smile, but found that she could not do anything on her accord. For a moment, time stopped, and in a world outside of time she dreamt that they were together. Together, flying high above the clouds. Her vision was a wonderful picture, a picture of her deepest desires. It was all so perfect, and it would've stayed that way had it not been for a little voice in her subconscious, a little voice reminding her of reality and the truth.

_You're married to Dryden, _it said, in a mocking tone.

At that she pulled back, putting a more appropriate space between them. His eyes reverted back to the isolated ones they had been, instead of the kind and loving ones she had stared into moments ago. Taking a deep breath, she once again tried to speak.

"G-Gaddess… I…." She stuttered violently, and couldn't get past the 'I' in her sentence. Deciding she'd try again, she took another deep breath, and this time, spoke in a calm voice.

"Gaddess, I—"

"Celena!" came a call across the corridor.

The two instantly sprang apart, and both turned to see who had called out to them. They saw a figure with shoulder-length brown hair walking toward them, his usual Duke attire in place.

"So this is where you came to," he said when her reached Celena.

"Dryden," she affirmed his presence softly. He flashed her a 'charming' smile, and she lowered her eyes. Then he turned his attention to Gaddess.

"How long until we reach Fanelia, captain?" he asked, not inquiring at all why his wife was with her ex-boyfriend in a deserted guymelef hangar. 

Gaddess, visibly relieved, saluted the Duke and answered his question.

"Two hours at the maximum, highness," he replied, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Very well; carry on, captain," he dismissed, and with that he led Celena away, walking in the direction of the main chambers.

*******************

Varie woke the next morning to the sound of singing birds and purring. The curtains swung happily in the breeze blowing in through the balcony doors that had been left open. Dazedly, she opened her eyes to be staring back at a pair of yellowish-hazel cat ones. 

"Aaah!" Varie screamed out of fright. 

"Not so loud," Mattie hissed. "Do you **want **to get me in trouble?"

"What are you doing in my room at…" Varie glanced toward her balcony to look at her sundial, but found that it was very dark outside, the sky being gloomy and grey.

"Very early in the morning," she complained, burying her face in her pillow.

"I'm sorry, **Princess,** but don't be fooled by the gloomy sky. It's almost nine o'clock."

This statement woke Varie up.

"NINE O'CLOCK!?" She immediately jumped out of bed, and rushed toward her bathroom. She knew she didn't have time for a bath, so she quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, before heading to her closet to pick out an outfit. After 'careful' consideration, Varie settled on a blue satin dress, with low v-cut neckline and five slits in the sleeves. Only as she started to change did she realize the reason Mattie was looking at her strangely, for she was still wearing the trousers and shirt from last night when she had gone to visit Himitsu. She knew she wouldn't be able to explain, but her mind was racing for an excuse to give to her friend, even though she hated having to lie.

"I… I… couldn't sleep last night…" __

_Good start,_ Varie thought to herself. That part was true; she really did have trouble sleeping.

"So I went and trained a bit to relax, and I guessed I must've been so tired I didn't even bother to take these dirty things off," she tried to laugh, but it sounded forced somehow. Her hands were by her sides guiltily, and that was when she felt something poke at her. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she reached into her pocket and pulled out… a feather. Then it struck her that she was going to give the feather to Himitsu the night before, but since the dragon had marched off on her she didn't get the chance. Mattie was peering at her accusingly, and when she pulled out the feather, her eyes held disappointment. 

"Varie, you didn't," she said softly, pleadingly. "Tell me you didn't go flying last night."

Varie almost couldn't hear the last words, for they were spoken so softly. She didn't understand why her friend cared so much that she had gone flying; it wasn't as if she were so careless as to let someone see her.

"Relax, Mattie. No one saw me. Seriously, you're starting to sound like Father," she said, while turning around for her friend to do up the buttons on the back of her dress as she did up her hair.

"You shouldn't do that anymore, Varie," Mattie said while she worked. When she was done, she spun Varie around to face her.

"Promise me you won't do that again," she said, grabbing her friend's shoulders.

"There is no way I'm giving up flying. It's what I do to relax; I can't do anything else!" Varie retorted, after she had elegantly put her hair in a bun and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"It's not safe…" Mattie whispered, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Before Varie could ask what she meant by that, Mattie shook her shoulders firmly.

"Promise me," she pleaded determinedly.

"But I—"

"PROMISE ME!" she almost shouted, but lowered her voice when she remembered there was a presence outside the door. Another knock confirmed that.

"Just a minute!" Varie called to the visitor. Then, in an undertone, whispered to her friend, "Leave now, unless you want to get in trouble!"

"I'm not going anywhere until you promise!" the cat-girl hissed back.

"Princess, are you alright in there?" a muffled male voice called through the door.

"Yes, I'm fine," she shouted back. "I'll be there in a second."

"Promise me. Please," was Mattie's last stab at getting the headstrong girl to promise.

Sighing dejectedly, Varie reluctantly agreed.

"Ok, you win. I promise. Now go before you get in trouble!"

The cat-girl didn't need telling twice. She got down on all fours, and ran toward the balcony. Standing up on the railing, she was gone in the blink of an eye. Varie quickly ran to the door, smoothed out the crinkles in her dress, took a deep breath and put on a fake smile, then opened the door.

Standing outside was Prince Gabriel, looking very handsome in his blue Asturian court attire. He wore a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt, topped with an armoured vest emblazoned with the Asturian crest. His trousers were tucked into his knee-high black boots, his sword swinging happily in its sheath attached to his belt. A long navy-blue cape flowing to the floor finished the look, making him look very majestic. 

"Sorry to disturb you, Princess," he said, bowing deeply. "But I was wondering if I could have the honour of escorting you down to breakfast?"

Varie was surprised at him; he **definitely **wasn't the little brat she remembered. He was very polite and gentlemanly, and he really was sort of cute. She gawked at herself for thinking such a thing, but remembered that he had asked her a question that she had not answered yet.

"I'd be delighted," she said with a genuine smile. He offered her his arm, and she hooked her hand into his. As she closed the door behind her, she had the strangest feeling that she had forgotten something. Dismissing the thought, she allowed herself to be led down the stone corridor to the dining hall for breakfast.

*******************

*The jade necklace Celena is wearing is the one Dilandau wore. You can see it when he rips his shirt in episode… 19, I think.

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_Author's Notes:_ Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out! Please forgive me!!! I've been really busy, really I have!

Sorry to cut this chapter here, but I felt it was a good place to stop. Something's gonna happen in the next chapter that will give you a more… broad picture of the story. I'm planning a MAJOR plot twist. Oops, ok, I never said that. Erase that out of your memories!!!

Meghanna Starsong, thank you so much for your constant advice and support. You're the best! If anyone else is reading this, PLEASE review. Right now I don't think this story is worth continuing to write because no one seems to be reading it. It would mean **soooooo much** to me to get just ONE review. If you think I should keep writing this story, please say so.

Anyways, please review… and um… please read my other Esca fics… and uh… I'll go work on my other stories now.

Ciao for now,

~Seeress


	6. The Big Day

The Way Things Were

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_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Escaflowne, but I do own this story's plot.

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The Way Things Were

Chapter 5

Van stood in his enormous study, staring out the window longingly for an unknown something, hand clutching at the pinkish-cerise pendant that he had never once taken off. Life was as best as it could get for him, yet somehow he felt that something was missing in his life. What it was, he didn't know. He had felt that way before, when Hitomi had left him to go back to the Mystic Moon all those years ago. He had felt so empty and hollow, like a body without its soul. The days passed him by without him noticing them. He didn't eat, sleep, or seem to care about anything. His advisors sent for the best physicians of Gaea to see to their King's 'illness.' None had been able to say what the problem was, besides from the fact that Van had been sorely lacking sleep and nourishment. 

Those had been the days where he had wanted to die. It was funny how when he was in front of her, he could act independent and strong, whereas when she was gone, he was dependent on her. Whenever they talked through their special thought-speak, he had always hidden his feelings. Merle had been the one who had knocked some sense into him. Literally. Van had never seen her so upset over anything before. She had said things to him about her that he, in his entire time of knowing her, had never known. It was then that he realized she was no longer the little sister who was constantly following him around. She had become her own person, and her strength then had exceeded Van's. He remembered crying that night, crying like the world had ended. He hadn't cried since the day that his mother had left to find his brother, Folken. He never showed his emotions outwardly, keeping them all clogged up inside. Letting loose had made him feel better, although still empty. 

It was then that he saw it, the bright shooting star making a path through the two spheres in the midnight sky. He had been astounded by its beauty and extravagance, and he remembered wishing that he could bring Hitomi back, so that they could share the moment together. Before he knew what was happening, a bright pillar of light had swooped down and engulfed him in its warmth and purity. It purged him clean of all his sorrows and sins, and sent him to the planet of his love.

It had been the same, so perfectly, exactly the same, that it made Van shudder. He had landed behind a large, raised sort of arena. The area was deserted, and judging by the rising sun, Van could tell it was very early in the morning. In front of him lay the large oval track, and jogging slowly upon it was a young woman with light shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair and proud glowing green eyes. She was wearing her running clothes, the same pink shorts and plain white shirt, and the sight made Van blush a little. On Gaea, her clothing would be very inappropriate for a lady and would be frowned upon. However, she looked very beautiful, and Van could see that she had grown. She was much taller, leaner and broader, although she still had a small frame. Her chest had expanded a little, and her figure was much curvier. She hadn't seen him yet, seeming to be absorbed in her thoughts. He decided to talk to her through their thought-speak. 

_Hello, Hitomi._

She stopped running, and a smile instantly formed on her full lips.

_Van, _she answered. _How've you been doing?_

He smiled at her concern. _I'm fine, Hitomi. I just need to get away from all the royalty business._

He felt her laugh._ Van, where are you right now? You feel really close by._

It was his turn to smile. He had always wondered if she would be able to sense his presence.

Well, I'm… 

Hitomi had walked around the track while she had been talking to him, and now her back was facing him. Walking quietly so that she wouldn't hear him, Van sneaked up behind Hitomi and hugged her from behind.

"I'm right here," he said aloud.

She had turned around, her eyes wide in disbelief. 

"V-Van, what are you doing here?" she had asked shakily.

The rest of the events had been almost like a dream, and as all dreams, Van didn't quite remember. All he remembered was Hitomi that had returned to Gaea with him, and had accepted his marriage proposal. 

And now, almost 21 years later, their life together had remained wonderful. They had a daughter together, and had made Fanelia prosperous once again. Yes, life was sweet. But then what was missing?

Sighing deeply, Van turned to look at the huge painting of him on the wall. It had been an early picture of him, when he had just turned 15 and was still untouched by the sorrows of war. The picture caused him to chuckle a bit. He would never look like that again.

_Hitomi was right, _he thought, studying the profile. _I did look arrogant._

Knowing he would be late for breakfast if he didn't head down soon, Van walked out the door and closed it with a resonating click. Too wrapped in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the grey eyes watching him through the wall.

*******************

The usual political and royal talk buzzed about Varie at the breakfast table. She was more than bored; she was going out of her mind with sitting and doing nothing. She had long since finished her breakfast, but she knew it would be rude if she asked to be excused. She had to hide her laughter as Lord Eronai gave her a pleading look for help as the pompous Lord Gardkhas blabbed on and on about something she couldn't decipher. No wonder she liked her father's advisor; Lord Eronai was young compared to the other counsel members, but he was very kind and wise beyond his years. Her eyes scanning the rest of the table, Lord Remus gave her a small smile, her mother and father were grinning at her, but her gaze fell directly on Gabriel. His blue eyes looked back at her, and he flashed her the most charming grin. A little embarrassed, Varie suddenly found the white tablecloth interesting. Gabriel however, had stood up boldly, holding his champagne glass high. 

"A toast," he said loudly. "To Princess Varie, on her birthday. May you be prosperous and surrounded by happiness," he concluded. King Allen had stood up proudly, along with other guests of the long table, with their goblets raised. 

"To Princess Varie," they murmured, clinked their glasses together, and drank. 

*******************

The smell of the flowers and trees did much to lift her spirits. Varie had needed to escape from the endless sycophantic people she had encountered that day. She was a little troubled that Himitsu would not answer to her, but knew that the dragon just needed some time alone to ponder things over, just as she was doing. It was such a beautiful mid-summer's day, with the sun glowing radiantly and a few chaste white clouds drifting lazily across the blue Gaean sky. 

Today was the big day. At exactly 6 o'clock sharp, the celebrations would begin. There was a buzz among the servants and guards, as well as the villagers that this would be the biggest celebration Fanelia would see in years. Practically everyone was busy; those who were preparing for the festivities were running around fetching this and that to have everything ready in time, while those who were attending the celebration were taking the entire day to do some last minute shopping and pick out what to wear. It amused Varie how excited everyone got over her birthday, yet she herself didn't really feel anything. To her it was just another day, another uneventful day that went by. Little did she know that something would happen that day, something to prove that she had been terribly mistaken.

Walking along the stone path that had been laid out, she thought that she might visit her family's graves. She had felt that the trees guarding the graves were mystically enchanting; the light that filtered through their leaves played with her eyes. She was caught up in her thoughts, so far away in her own world that she did not notice where she was walking. For the second time that week, Varie had walked smack dab into somebody once again. However, the impact wasn't as hard as the previous time, and although she staggered back a few paces, Varie regained her balance.

_Great,_ she thought to herself. _Who did I embarrass myself in front of now?_

She lifted her eyes, and to great surprise, once again saw blue eyes staring back.

"We need to stop running into each other like this," he chuckled. Varie could only blush.

"Where were you headed, Princess?" Gabriel asked politely.

"Well, I was just… going… to the…" Her speech didn't start too well, as she was too absorbed by his eyes. Clearing her mind, she tried again.

"Would you like to come with me?" she asked, not knowing what had made her say such a thing. 

_Where did **that** come from?!_ she asked herself.

"Where are we going?" he asked playfully.

"Oh, you'll see when you get there," she joked back.

"Alright then," he pretended to lift his chin up arrogantly. "I shall muster up my courage and place my well-being in your hands."

She could only laugh. "Trust me, it won't hurt. Just close your eyes."

He looked at her a bit quizzically and was hesitant, but in the end complied. 

"Don't worry. Now, don't open your eyes until I tell you to." 

Holding onto his arm, she gently led him down the path to the private gardens. The gentle breeze blowing through the leaves whispered a soft lullaby to her. As they entered the shade of the trees, Varie was once again enveloped in its wondrous sensation.

"You can open your eyes now," she said almost inaudibly. 

As Gabriel opened his eyes, he was met with the most breathtaking sight. The grass so green beneath his feet, the trees dancing in the breeze, the flowers of various colours all around them, and most of all… her. She looked absolutely astounding standing there. The light flickered across her face, making her seem surreal. Her expression was one of contentment, and he was happy with her. He had never heard music as beautiful as the one that played around them at that very instant.

"Are we in…."?

"The private gardens?" she finished for him. "Yes, we are. Those are my grandparents' graves." She pointed to large tombstones on her left. Gabriel's gaze flickered over the marble stone, but it wandered farther over to the right, and there he found a moss-covered giant kneeling, surrounded by dozens of wild flowers. At first he did not know what it was, could not even begin to understand, but then he saw a bare part of white metal where moss had not begun to form, and then he understood. Many a time had he heard the legends and rumours, but he had never believed that they were true.

"Is that… could that possibly be… the Ispano guymelef Escaflowne?" he asked bewildered.

"Yes, that is the legendary God of Protection. He's been resting here, as there is no longer a need for him."

Still amazed by the sight of such a legend, Gabriel took time to walk around and inspect the guymelef. He only seemed to return to the world when the sound of the clock tower struck, signalling that it was 11 o'clock.

"It seems I've lost track of time," he said sheepishly. "Do forgive me Princess Varie, but there are matters I need to attend to." With that, he brushed his lips past the back of her hand, and turned to leave.

"Will you be able to find your way out?" she called after him.

"I believe I can manage, princess. Thank you for your concern," he replied, not turning around.

When he was gone from sight, Varie turned to her grandparents' and uncle's graves. On top of the grave stood a woman with long raven hair and angelic white wings. She looked only a little older than Varie, and she was smiling at her.

"Happy Birthday, dear child," the ghostly image spoke softly. She reached out a hand for Varie, but the transparent fingers went right through her cheek. The ghost woman's face saddened.

"Grandmother," she murmured back.

"I cannot stay long, little one. I only came to wish you a happy birthday, and to tell you to take care of yourself." By that time, her image was starting to fade.

"Be warned, Varie. Your destiny is cruel, but your blood demands it. Never doubt yourself, and believe in those you love." The image of the former Queen of Fanelia dissipated, leaving Varie very confused.

"Grandmother, wait!" she shouted. "What do you mean?"

"Trust yourself, and trust your heart," an echo of a voice answered from all around. 

_What is going on?_ Varie wondered.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ So, what do you think of it so far? I know it took me a while to get this chapter written, but now I finally have some time to write! This may be confusing now, but it'll all get cleared up later. You'll see. My sincerest thanks goes out to those of you who reviewed the last chapter: le bleu phenix, Meghanna Starsong, elektra ^_~, Alexia, and Lady Amalthea. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! 

My inspiration has returned, and since it's March Break, look for the next chapter real soon.

Ciao for now,

~Seeress


	7. Betrayal?

The Way Things Were

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Escaflowne, but would you believe me if I told you I did?

*******************

The Way Things Were

Chapter 6

"Where is Lord Daleth?" the shadowed figure demanded to the men lined up in front of him.

"The Lord Daleth has not returned from his… nightly expedition, sir," one of the braver men in the line answered. Not many would be as daring as to challenge his wrath. Frustrated at his second-in-command's dilatory return, he slammed his fist hard on the table in front of him. All the soldiers in the line winced as if they had been struck. He grinned at the fear he struck into the hearts of those pathetic dogs. He knew they were not entirely loyal to him, following whoever held the most power. But for the time being, they were useful to him, and as long as they feared him, loyalty was not a quality required. Snarling his aggravation, he faded into the shadows once more.

"He is to report to me as soon as he returns," he barked an order to the men. "See that he gets the message."

*******************

"Varie, I've been looking everywhere for you!" cried an excited Mattie coming up from behind Varie.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, a puzzled but bemused expression on her face.

"Just come with me, you'll see!" she squealed happily, and dragged her friend down the long hallway with her.

"Oww, your claws are digging into my skin," protested Varie.

"Sorry," Mattie said apologetically. "But you'll see why I'm so excited."

"Look, Mattie, I have to go have lunch soon. Where exactly are we going, anyway?" 

"You don't want me to spoil the surprise, now do you? Just trust me!" Seeing the sceptical look she was given in response, Mattie feigned offence.

"My best friend doesn't trust me?" she pretended to sob, clutching her heart. "Oh, the pain!" 

"Ha, ha," replied Varie sarcastically. "You wouldn't trust yourself either, if you were me." In response to that, Mattie could only smirk.

Their footsteps resonating off the stone walls, the girls continued on their way to a destination unknown to Varie. The two friends were each caught up in their thoughts, but the matters on one's mind could never be more opposite to the other's. Yet they were topics that would never be brought up for discussion, even to the most intimate of friends. Both young women jumped as a deep, masculine voice greeted them, snapping them out of their reverie. 

"Where are you two trouble-makers headed off to?" a smiling King Van enquired.

"Father, you scared us," Varie said composedly, although still trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Your Majesty," Mattie gave a bob of a curtsy as a proper greeting. "I'm just taking Varie to give her a… ahem… surprise, sire. You do remember that, don't you, sir?"

"Of course," he replied, and, catching the unbelieving look he was receiving from his daughter, chuckled. "Don't worry, I promise you it won't hurt… much." He watched with pride as the statement got the reaction he had been hoping for. Varie's facial expression sent him and Mattie into a huge fit of laughter. After the king and the catgirl had calmed down relatively, Van spoke up again. 

"After lunch, just drop by my study for a little bit, Varie. There's something I need to talk to you about." Just then, a loud ringing of the clock tower could be heard, signalling the time was quarter to twelve – fifteen minutes before lunchtime.

"Well, I'll let you girls go. Whatever it is you're doing, though, be quick. We don't want to be late for lunch." And with a wink, he walked off, his footsteps markedly silent on the marble floor. The two girls continued walking, and after a time stopped in front of a hand-carved door with the word "Seamstress" engraved on the top.

"The seamstress?" Varie asked, confused. "Why would you want to bring me here?"

"Why else, genius? We are making you a brand-new outfit to wear to your party tonight!"

"Wha--what?" she was absolutely baffled. "But there's no need to. Besides, you'll never be able to finish in time if you started now."

"Don't bet on it," was the smug reply Mattie gave. "The **best **seamstresses on Gaea are in this room right now. We just needed your measurements, but Lara told me that it'd be much faster if you stay and so they can pin the material on and stuff. You can be a mannequin for a bit." Mattie pushed the door open and the two girls walked in.

"Mattie, I have to get down to the dining hall for lunch," Varie protested. "Not that this isn't fun or anything," she added, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. 

"Uh-uh, I've already arranged to have your lunch sent here. You can eat after the measurements are taken. I'm sure Prince Gabriel could do without you there for one meal," she said, a mischievous smirk playing across her face. At the last statement, Varie's face turned a deep shade of crimson and she tried disastrously to hide her embarrassment. 

"What are you talking about?" she tried to pretend she didn't understand. 

"Oh, come on! I see you two together… you've been literally glued together ever since you met! I'm surprised he doesn't sleep in the same room as you…" she muttered as an afterthought, more to herself than to Varie. If it were possible, Varie turned a brighter shade of red than she already was.

"Mattie!" she protested indignantly, looking down at the floor to hide her face.

"Oops, did I say that **aloud?**" Mattie said coyly, smiling as innocently as an angel. After a small fit of laughter on Varie's expense, she settled down. "Come on over here and we'll get started."

*******************

Stiffly, Varie made her way to her father's study. It had been a long and arduous hour and a half in the seamstress's, and Varie was completely drained. She was so stiff from standing still for such a long time, and she barely had a bite to eat. Her lunch had been sent to her, as promised, but somehow being a mannequin made her lose her appetite. Groaning slightly, she tried to massage the strained muscles in the back of her neck. She never knew that being measured for a dress could be more tiring than a whole day's worth of training. At least that's what it felt like.

Finally reaching the discernible golden-handled doors, she gave three soft taps with her knuckles. She heard a muffled voice through the thick doors and assumed that she had been beckoned in. A slight twist of the knob and the door pushed open easily, creaking slightly as it revealed her father intently studying a book at his desk. He lifted his head up to acknowledge her, but went back to mark his page before putting the book away in a drawer and turning his full attention to her. Standing up, he came and gave her a greeting hug. Pulling back, he looked her over once and smiled in pride.

"Look at you, all grown up now. You're twenty today! Your mother and I are really proud of you," he said, his hands gripping her shoulders. "So, are you excited for the big event?"

This was the question she had dreaded. How was she supposed to answer? She supposed she should be excited, but frankly she didn't really know how she felt. As if reading her thoughts, Van just smiled.

"I understand, don't worry," he assured her. "I felt the same way too, when it was my 20th birthday. Of course, that was a very long time ago… an old man like me may have bad memories."

Varie could only laugh. "Father, you're not **that** old. I'm sure your memories are fine."

"We'll have to see if your memory is just as good. Do you remember a story I told you a long time ago, about the Great War?"

"Father, I must have heard a million—"

"This one was about your mother and I. Before she returned to the Mystic Moon, I told you that she gave me something. Do you remember what that was?"

"It was her pendant. The pendant which was the key to the power of Atlantis," Varie answered, as if reading from a book.

"Yes, that's right. You do remember. Well, we've decided that since it's your birthday, and now that you are much more mature and responsible, your birthday gift this year will be this pendant."

From underneath his shirt, Van produced a small pinkish-red tear-shaped necklace. The silver chain on which it hung was now a dirty grey from all the years of wear, but the gem still shone as brightly as ever. As soon as it made contact with her skin, Varie felt a tingling sensation all over her body, and knew that she had been bestowed with something truly magical and powerful. She slipped it on over her head and watched the luminous glow from the jewel slowly fade away. Wearing the pendant felt so right, and she had never felt happier. That was two wonderful gifts for her birthday already.

_If things keep going at this rate, maybe it won't be so bad after all,_ Varie thought. She gave her father a big hug, and he patted her head affectionately.

"Well, we'd better get going," Van said after their embrace. Varie only gave him a confused look, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"You didn't forget, did you, my dear? Duchess Celena is coming! She should arrive at the leviship dock at any moment."

*******************

In a darkened room of the castle, Lord Daleth was receiving a report from his trusted soldier and spy. Their plans were working perfectly, but he felt better knowing his little mole was keeping an eye on the up-and-coming princess.

"You're doing well, my sweet," he said, staring into her golden-yellow cat eyes, and brushing a strand of reddish-pink curly hair from her beautiful face. "Keep this up, and you will be richly rewarded."

And, pulling her closer and quickly brushing his lips over hers, he left in a swirl of shadows, leaving behind no trace of his presence.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Yes, I've done it!!! I've written another chapter! Just proves miracles do happen. I know this came out really, REALLY late, but please don't kill me!! Gomen nasai!!! 

I'd like to thank my newest reviewer, Striking Cat, for the reviews and the compliments. You have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that this is one of the best Esca fics you've read. Thank you so much! My thanks are also extended to: 

-le bleu phenix (if you're confused now, that's good because that's what I was aiming for. But don't worry; everything'll be cleared up later.) 

-Meghanna Starsong (you know how much I appreciate you, right? Well, if you don't, now you do! Thank you sooo much.), 

-Lady Amalthea (I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And yes, I will try to update faster…)

-And last but not least, elektra ^_~! (Glad you decided to post your story. You're a great writer.)

Well, have you guessed some of my plot yet? Do you know who Daleth (and yes, he is the red-haired guy) is talking to? All will be revealed in the upcoming chapters. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! Stay tuned!

~Seeress


	8. It's Just the Beginning

The Way Things Were

_Disclaimer:_ I write about 'em, I don't own 'em. Escaflowne belongs to Sunrise, Bandai and whoever else has the copyright privileges.

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The Way Things Were

Chapter 7

Voices.

_Do you believe in destiny?_

Familiar voices.

_Fate can be altered! It won't end this way!_

Voices from the past, or perhaps another life.

_I know what he's planning! I'm going to end this._

Desperate pleas of the heart.

_Please don't go! What if something happens?_

Reassurance.

_Don't worry. I'll come back to you, I promise._

The swish of a blade.

_NO!!!_

Anguished cries into the night.

But you promised! You… promised… me… 

And then…

_Silence._

He breathed in the scent of the long-forgotten room. Carvings, tapestries, ornaments, all signifying the impetuous stage of Gaea's history not too long ago. The large arched windows were draped shut, not allowing in light or vision for prying eyes. The doors boarded and locked, the keys demolished in a fire to keep the secret safe. 

_A grand room to hide an equally grand secret, _he thought regally. _Surely they knew that it was impossible to keep it from **us**. They are only saving reputation by keeping this from the public. And maybe perhaps, even from **her**…_

The dust-covered objects that had once been so shiny and exquisite failed to show a reflection of the man who explored the room. There was nothing that these objects could tell him that he didn't already know, but he wanted to see it anyway. He wanted to confirm their existence with his own eyes.

He ran his hand along a sword, the hilt of which had the crest of Fanelia emblazoned upon it. Its sheath discarded, it was a deadly tool. He held the hilt to his lips, and blew along the length of the blade, sending a massive cloud of dust flying in the still air. The blade glistened in his hand, and hummed as he used it to perform a few stances. The years had not aged the blade, for it was still sharp enough to kill. Anger surged within him at the thought of killing, at the thought of knowing all of this was rightfully his. Finding the sheath on the ground beside his foot, he slipped the weapon back into its lair. He would not need it now, but the blade would definitely taste blood soon.

_And then I shall have what should've been mine… starting with Fanelia._

*******************

She took a few steps back as the last blow narrowly missed her head. Varie ran forward towards her opponent, aiming for his torso with the hilt of her blade. But Remus had anticipated her move and dodged it easily. Moving back a few paces to put more distance between them, Varie gripped her sword so hard that her knuckles were white. Her shoulders heaved as she tried to draw in deep breaths to calm herself. The sunlight filtering through the slightly obscured windows shone on her damp face, and deflected off the blade of her sword, making it look even more lethal than it already did. The silence that hung for those few moments closed in on her like a heavy mist, forcing her to attack or be taken in by it.

Her sword was the renowned Dragon's Breath. It's blade, when piercing human flesh, stung like fire. It was practically indestructible, and in the wrong hands, could cause much bloodshed and death. Not that many could wield this legendary sword; it took someone with great strength and courage to even touch the weapon. She had been accustomed to it, having trained with it for a good number of years. But she knew how dangerous the blade was; after all, it was never a good idea to play with fire.

Unable to stay still much longer, she charged forward in her haste. Big mistake. It went against everything she had been taught, but her instincts had taken over. She hadn't taken the entire situation into account, and before she knew it, her sword had been knocked out of her hands and the tip of Remus's blade was at her throat.

"That's enough for today," Remus told her after he had re-sheathed his sword and helped her to her feet.

"No, I'm fine," Varie insisted, seeing as how they had only been training for a half hour or so. "Please, let's spar for a bit longer."

"You must learn patience, Princess Varie," Remus replied, already opening the training room door. "Your mind is wandering… you are not focused today. There is no point in continuing to train any longer. We will recommence our training tomorrow." 

And with that, he headed out the door, leaving her with her thoughts. She had hoped sparring would have taken up a good chunk of the time she had before her Father returned with Duchess Celena, leaving just enough time for her to freshen up before going out to greet the serene duchess. Now she had plenty of time to deal with, and that gave her time to mull over the present events about to take place, which was something she had hoped to avoid.

Walking solemnly back to her room, she nodded to the guards saluting her. Upon entering the spacious bedroom, she found a long white box on her bed. Opening it curiously, she found a beautiful solitary red rose sitting on top of what she knew to be her party dress. She gasped in wonder, and found that there was an attached note from Mattie. After reading it quickly, an enormous smile spread across her face. In much higher spirits, she hurriedly had a bath, washing away all the sweat off her skin. 

*******************

"Celena!" Van called out to her, and held her in a friendly embrace when she had exited the leviship.

"It's good to see you again, Van," she said after they had broken apart. "And you too, Hitomi," she greeted the Queen, giving her a gracious kiss on the cheek. Dryden watched his wife greet the Fanelian royals, and stepped out of the leviship to do the same.

"Why hello, Your Majesty, I trust you're doing well?" he took Van's offered hand and shook it in a firm handshake. He received a curt nod from the King and he turned his attention toward Hitomi.

"And the beautiful Queen. How are you, my dear?" he took Hitomi's small hand in his and kissed it.

"Just fine, thank you. And you, Dryden?" she asked courteously. Dryden merely shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Nothing new, Your Majesty. We've come to give a special happy birthday to the princess."

"Well, let's be on our way then, shall we?" Van intervened, indicating the waiting carriage. He offered his arm to Hitomi, and Dryden did the same for Celena. The two couples boarded the carriage and prepared for the ride into town.

*******************

"You're late," he commented, sensing the presence of his second-in-command without turning around to look.

"There were some things I had to see to, sire," Daleth answered, bowing to his superior although his back was turned. 

"I trust things are going well?"

"Of course, sir. However, I believe the King is starting to suspect. The Princess also has a dragon friend I think you might be interested in."

"Dragon?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. I watched her take off one night to talk to this dragon in the woods. I believe she calls it 'Himitsu.'"

The sound of his commander's hollow laugh filled the dark room. 

"She is Draconian, isn't she? But I doubt she knows what she is truly capable of." Silence hung for a minute, and Daleth waited diligently for an order or dismissal that he knew would come.

"The King doesn't know what we're up to," he mused aloud. "He's just remembering a very old prophecy." He stopped talking again, and silence reigned with the shadows once more.

"The preparations are ready, aren't they?" he asked after a while.

"Yes, sire. Everything is in place." 

"Good. Be ready to leave at 1700 hours. We don't want to be late, do we?"

"No, sire," Daleth replied, and was about to leave when his master beckoned him back.

"Oh, and Lord Daleth, bring this 'Himitsu' dragon back to me. It could be of some use later."

"As you wish, my lord."

*******************

"Varie, look at you! You look amazing!" Celena was excitedly greeting her 'niece.' "My, how you've grown!"

"Thank you, Duchess," Varie replied modestly, happy to see her 'aunt' again.

"Now, just because you've grown up and it's your birthday doesn't mean that you start calling me 'Duchess' all of a sudden. I'm still Aunt Celena to you!" Celena teased, and Varie laughed at her Aunt's never-ending enthusiasm.

"Yes, Aunt Celena."

"That's better," Celena smiled. "Now, care to take me around this place again?" she asked, indicating the castle. "I haven't been here for a long time and I really don't know my way around anymore."

"Sure, Aunt Celena. How about I show you your room first, and then we can tour a little bit."

"Sounds good to me." It was then that the two of them remembered that Van, Hitomi, and Dryden were also standing there.

"That is, if it's alright with you, Father?" Varie asked the King. 

"Go right ahead. Just don't be late for dinner. After all, we need the guest of honour to be there," he added with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"We'll be on time, Van," Celena answered for Varie. "See you later, then."

The two women had a wonderful time walking around the palace and through the royal gardens, and before they knew it, the clock tower chimed and signalled that the time was quarter to six. Each woman had hitched up her skirts and ran as fast as she could back to the castle, laughing all the way. Once they entered through the doors, each went their separate ways to freshen up before the partying began. 

*******************

_I'm a nervous wreck,_ Varie thought to herself as she stood in front of the large mahogany doors that led to the dance hall. Any moment the clock would strike six, and the doors would be opened for her to walk through to the royal assembly of guests that had come to wish her well on her twentieth birthday all by herself. She hated having everyone's eyes on her, hated the fact that her every move would be monitored and one wrong move could mean disaster. Her hands were shaking terribly, and it was all she could do to keep them steady and poised. 

_Why do they make me do this by myself? Why do I even **have** to do this in the first place?_

She paced back and forth across the floor, the sound of her shoes calming her a bit. She couldn't understand why she was so nervous. 

_I mean, all I have to do is walk in there without falling, or tripping, or… or…_

She started to pace faster as her mind thought up the many impossible disasters that could happen.

"You're going to make a hole in the floor if you keep doing that, princess," an amused voice said from her left. She stopped walking, and looked over to see Jared standing beside the door, his green eyes laughing at her silently.

"Jared, I… I didn't see you there," she said honestly, and then wondered to herself how she could possibly not see him standing right there in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, almost all the palace guards are outside patrolling the castle entrances and securing a perimeter around the main square, and since there aren't any notices to deliver and this position was available, I got placed here."

Varie nodded her understanding, and continued to pace again.

"Stop doing that," Jared said to her firmly, gripping her arm to keep her from pacing any further. "Look, you'll be fine. Have some confidence in yourself; you look incredible. Just walk in there and dazzle them all," he gave her a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but smile as well.

"I knew there was a reason I always liked you," she said, giving him a quick hug. It was at that moment that the clock tower struck six, and Varie suddenly became nervous once again. Jared squeezed her hand gently, and led her to the doors.

"Ready?" he asked her. She only nodded mutely, becoming quite aware of her pounding heart.

"Good luck," he whispered to her, and began to open the doors.

"Thanks," she whispered back, as the blinding light from inside was growing more and more radiant as the doors fully opened for her to enter.

_Okay Varie,_ she thought to herself. _It's now or never._

And with a last calming breath, she stepped into the light and let it engulf her.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ I'm finally back. We've moved, but everything's a big mess and nothing's going right, so it may be a while before I update again. Thanks to elektra^_~, Meghanna Starsong, and Lady Amalthea for reviewing the last chapter. I'm totally exhausted so I'm not going to babble on for long. Hope you enjoy.


	9. What's wrong, Princess? Not enjoying the...

The Way Things Were

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Escaflowne in any way or form. However, any original characters (i.e. Daleth, Himitsu, etc.) are my property and I ask that you do not take them without permission. The plot is also mine and the same rule applies.

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The Way Things Were

Chapter 8

"Go around the back! Be careful near that tail!"

"You, in the front! Watch out for fire!"

The once quiet evening in the forest became a battlefield as the countless soldiers tried to subdue the lashing of the powerful dragon. Himitsu released her might once more in a blazing ball of flame, and scorched a few soldiers who weren't quick enough to dodge the burning inferno. The grass had ceased to be green, covered by pools of spilled blood from the dead and the dying. The smell of seared flesh filled the once-pure air, and the many forest animals that were nearby had scattered long before the confrontation even began.

Daleth stood in the outer ring of trees and watched the skirmish with cold eyes. Disdain flashed across his features as another bunch of idiotic soldiers were burnt to death. 

_Fools,_ he thought malevolently. _They're all fools._

Having had enough of the fruitless massacre, although he couldn't of cared less if all of the soldiers died, he decided to step in and end the bloody confrontation. Even though he did not care for these men, he knew His Excellency would not be pleased to learn that an entire squadron of his men had been left to die. Throwing back his dark cloak, he bounded down the slight hillock and down into the death pit. He could see the dragon was gathering energy to blast another ball of fire, and as it roared its head back, its lungs inflamed, he landed right in front of it and held up his hand. The soldiers that were scrambling to get away from the assault turned back to stare at him with wide eyes as if he were insane. He saw the dragon's eyes shift to look at him, and he continued to stand and stare right back with dauntingly unafraid eyes. Then suddenly, without warning, the eyes of the massive dragon misted and dulled, lolling backwards into its head. The colossal body began to teeter and sway, and then the gigantic scaly mass fell backwards to lie sprawled on its back. A few soldiers had to move to prevent being trapped underneath the immense mass. The vibrations through the ground shook the trees from their very roots.

Daleth brought his hand back down to his side calmly, and moved closer to inspect the seemingly unconscious creature. Its eyes were not completely closed, and its breath came out in puffs of white smoke. Satisfied, Daleth turned and started to walk away. He had other things to attend to than to play dragon slayer all day. It was bad enough that he had to interfere in the first place. 

Silence hung as all the soldiers about stared dumbfounded, their eyes shifting between the nonchalant redheaded man and the large dragon lying unconsciously on the bloody grass. Daleth found it almost amusing how null these men were. As he walked past an older man dressed in a general's uniform, the only one that seemed to still be coherent at the time, he acknowledged him with his eyes and walked briskly past him. After he was a few steps behind the man, he decided to stop and speak.

"General Aolus, I trust you'll take care of this matter," he said it in a stoic tone, not as a question, but not as an order either, never turning to face the other man. The sound of shifting armour let him know that the General had turned to face him.

"Of course, sir. I apologize that you had to step in." The sound of the armour once again let him know that the man was bowing to him, and he nodded without turning, then continued to walk away. 

*******************

The brilliance of the light stung her eyes, and she squinted them until they were almost shut, fighting the urge to bring her hand up to cover her face. She had not been permitted to enter the dance hall during the day, so she had no idea what the place would look like, or that the lights would be so blindingly bright. From on her left, she heard her name announced, and after her eyes adjusted to the new intensity of the light, she opened her eyes fully and was finally able to take in her surroundings. 

Her breath hitched in her throat; everything was so sparklingly beautiful! The grand staircase on which she was standing curved out at the bottom, and she could see that the stairs and handrails had been so diligently polished that she saw her reflection in them. The majestic crystal chandelier hanging overhead twinkled luminously in the raised ceiling, its radiance lighting up every possible dark corner in the enormous room. Candles had been lit in a row all along the side walls, creating a soft glow in their own space in contrast to the luminosity of the large chandelier. The back wall was mostly a large glass door ranging from the ceiling to the floor that led to a balcony, accentuated with chicly expensive floral patterned curtains. This night, the floor-length curtains had been drawn back, held in place by gold tassels, boasting a magnificent view of the starry night sky. She saw long tables aligned along the walls under the candles, covered with a pure white tablecloths, upon them mounds and mounds of different foods and desserts that sat tantalizingly, just waiting to be eaten. White and light pink flowers, which were found only in Fanelia, were put up in measured distances along the top of each wall and flower trees were put at the foot of the stairs and beside each table.

She felt she could stare at the scene before her forever, but the sound of enthusiastic applause snapped her out of her reverie. Her eyes now trained to the guests, all in the middle of the dance floor, all eyes looking at her, and she gave a small modest curtsy, smiling brightly, and then proceeded down the stairs. She saw her Mother and Father there, holding hands and both beaming at her fondly. Her Father extended his hand to her, and she took it gratefully. Any form of support that she could gather at the moment, she was grateful to have. He led her through the crowd, and they parted for the Royals to make their way to the balcony. The servants, even whom were given special uniforms to wear, opened the double glass doors for them, bowing as they did so. Varie felt the cold evening chill whip at her face, and for the second time that night, her breath hitched in her throat again. But as she saw the City Square, all thoughts of breathing left her completely.

She had never thought she could ever witness anything more beautiful than the dance hall she had previously been in, but one glance at the City Square and she couldn't believe she had ever had that thought in the first place. It felt like the entire populace of Fanelia were below them, each face looking up expectantly at the royal house. She had never seen anything so full of life! There were lights everywhere, and the usually dull square became bright and bustling. Vendors had set up their stalls, and it became a mini bazaar as people bought food and gifts and enjoyed themselves. It was a swirling sea of colour, from the many frivolous decorations, to the people themselves. 

Her mind was trying to take everything in at once, and she felt somewhat overwhelmed. It was unbelievable how much trouble everyone went to, just for her birthday. It was for that one moment, just once, when she felt truly privileged to be born royal. These loyal, hard-working people, who all thought of her as a goddess and loved her so much, went and did all this extra work just to make her birthday special. Her father made a brief speech, of which she did not hear due to her trance-like state, and all too soon she was dragged back inside to greet all the guests. She mingled for a while, all the time her eyes searching for Gabriel, the one person who could save her, but found that he was nowhere in sight. She thought dinner would never arrive, but finally the clear ring of the silver bell sounded, and everyone piled into the dining room. Varie sat down somewhat dejectedly, already tired but in a way enjoying herself. She couldn't wait to get into the square and play games and eat cotton candy and be a normal girl. 

Dinner was a big 5-course affair, and by the time dessert was taken away, Varie but jumped out of her seat and rushed to get outside. Her thoughts of having fun were cut short when she heard the orchestra start up a waltz.

_The dance,_ her shoulders slumped. _How could I have forgotten?_    

Instead, she led the way to the dance floor, and all eyes turned to her expectedly. It was a custom in Fanelia for the host or hostess to start the dancing, but Varie found that she had no dance partner. Just then, someone tapped her softly on the shoulder, and turning around she found that she was staring into the handsome face of Gabriel. 

"May I have this dance?" he smiled charmingly, bowing to her and holding out his hand. Varie didn't answer him, but she curtsied politely and took his offered hand. They waited for the perfect rhythm, and then started swaying to the music. Soon after, the other guests joined in and the young couple were lost in the middle of the crowd.

Varie felt herself blush as Gabriel's hand tightened possessively around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She could feel the soothing heat radiating off his body, and felt his firm muscles beneath the trim tunic that he wore. She was relieved when he let go of her to twirl her around, putting some distance between them, but then they were even more intimate than before, with her having her back turned to him and he had both arms around her waist. She felt his breath on her neck, and had to suppress a shudder of excitement. Being near him felt so good, but something inside her stirred.

_Why does this feel… wrong?_

They twirled once more, and ended up in the position they had started in. He looked her straight in the eye, smiling at her. She smiled back brightly, smothering her feeling from before.

"You're tired." His melodious voice interrupted her thoughts. She quickly turned her eyes to him.

"Just a little," she said with a sigh. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not really," he assured her. "It was just a presumption." She smiled back at him weakly.

"How is it you know me so well, Gabriel?" she asked, half-jokingly. He leaned in closer, and whispered almost inaudibly into her ear.

"Instinct."

That one word caused her to shiver, and she pulled away from him, wide-eyed. He had seemed so different a moment ago, but when she looked at him again, he was the smiling man she thought she knew. Finally, the song ended, and she removed herself from his arms and curtsied, although her heart was racing. She turned away from him, walking as fast as she could without seeming in a hurry, and darted out of the dance hall, heading straight to her room. Her echoing footsteps provided her no comfort, and as soon as she was out of sight, she burst into a full-blown sprint. Pushing her bedroom door open with both her hands, she burst into the room and slammed the door behind her. She rested her back against the cold wood, taking gasping breaths and trying desperately to calm herself, sliding to sit in a heap on the floor. It was then her senses perked up, and she sensed that something wasn't right. Looking over to the other side of the room, she saw a looming hooded figure silhouetted against the moonlight streaming in through the open window. It turned to face her, and let out a bone-chilling laugh. 

"What's wrong, Princess? Not enjoying the party?"

The figure pulled out a long gleaming knife, the sharp blade glittering in the light, and Varie barely had time to react before the figure lunged at her.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Another cliffhanger! This chapter actually turned out very different from what I had originally planned, but things change. I'm really sick right now, and I've lost my voice, so if this chapter was disappointing, I'm sorry. Don't mind all the errors I've probably made; they'll be fixed later. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed: Lovely T, Meghanna Starsong, Raye-Rei (I think it's cool that both our characters are named Varie, too!), Feier (miss ya lots!), and my renewed reviewer, DestinyBabee. Hope you guys liked this. It's been sitting half-done for so long now, and I've finally finished it. It's funny; I write better when I'm sick. Lol. Anyways, enough babble. Enjoy and review!

Until next time,

~Seeress  


	10. Odyssey of Coincidence

The Way Things Were

Standard disclaimer applies 

©Seeress 2003

_Warning:_ A bit of _implied_ yaoi (slash) happens in this chapter. If this bothers you in any way, don't read it. The part is after the third set of asterisks (*). You have been forewarned.

*******************

The Way Things Were

Chapter 9

She saw her whole life flash before her eyes.

Faces and images flowed in front of her, pushing and shoving each other aside, one after another with each frame constantly blinking and disappearing to be replaced by another. Long forgotten memories resurfaced in her mind, and some images that she did not recognize at all came unbidden: some grotesquely beautiful in their own way, and most others eerily frightening.

Out of pure instinct, she ducked and tried to spin away. The knife barely missed her by millimetres, but the jagged edge of the blade managed to graze the bare skin of her shoulder. Crying out softly at the pain that seared through her skin, she rolled under the attacker and quickly got to her feet. While the figure was trying to get the knife dislodged from the door (for the first time she was happy that the doors were thick and made out of wood), she hitched up her skirt and reached down her leg to the place where her dagger should be. Her hand came into contact with nothing but a stocking-covered leg.

Panic shot through her very being.

For a brief moment, she thought she had dropped it somewhere, lost it while she was not paying attention. She struggled to recall what she had done through the day, but found that her mind stayed defiantly blank. The assassin had almost gotten the knife free, when the corner of her eye was caught by something that glowed strangely bright in the dimness of the room. Turning quickly to look over to her bedside table, she spotted the long white feather, radiating an otherworldly light that lit up the small wooden surface. But, faint as it was, it was enough to let her see that there was another object, a long black shadow, that sat beside the glowing plume on the table as well. Her heart nearly leapt for joy.

Her dagger! There it sat, the intricate designs carved on its sheath nearly invisible in the twilight. The mere sight of it eased her mind, although it was presumptuous to do so. A grunt from behind her was all the warning she got that her attacker had gotten his weapon back. Sparing a brief glance over her shoulder, it did indeed confirm that the man was armed and ready to finish the job.

_Not if I can help it,_ she thought angrily, pure fury making her bold. She pretended to back away, a look of fake horror on her face, moving her body to shield the table to block it from view. She heard a sneer coming from the man's lips, the hood not concealing the sinister curling of his lips into a wicked smile.

"Come here, sweetheart," his voice was hoarse, a sound like stone grinding stone. "I won't hurt you. Maybe I'll even let you have some fun, before you die." He let out a harsh, barking laugh that echoed off the wall.

Her eyes turned to ice. Dropping all pretence as she felt her hand close around the sheath of her dagger, she brought it in front of her and drew the dagger with her other hand. The assassin jumped away as if burned.

_At least he's got he sense to back away,_ she thought wryly to herself, letting a cold smile touch her lips. It must have made her look absolutely evil, for it made the man flinch, even after he had backed away. Apparently his employer didn't know or never told him that she was well versed with a knife. It was that moment of his indecision that she decided to strike.

The fight didn't last long. The man was not truly skilled, but she had difficulty moving because of the way her dress clung to her legs. The hanging fabric trailed behind her like a tail, and it greatly impeded her movements. Pretending to lunge at her attacker with her dagger again, the man was fooled into lifting his arm to protect an attack that never came, and instead she placed her elbow under his chin and put as much force into the blow as she could. She got a sickeningly satisfying feeling from the crunch she heard his teeth make. While he was distracted, she bent down and hacked off the length of her dress from the knee down and kicked off her high heel shoes, aiming them so that they hit the man in the head. It seemed to irritate him, because he came after her with much more force than before. But with nothing to prevent her movement and her knife in her hand, it only took another few strokes to disarm the assassin and have the pointed end of her dagger at his throat.

Panting slightly, she walked closer so that the tip of the blade touched the man's skin, and pulled the hood off his head. She didn't recognize the man beneath, not that she expected to. He had brownish-red hair—mostly red streaked brown—and his eyes, a hazy teal, seemed somehow familiar. Shaking that aside, she got straight down to business.

"Who sent you?" she asked coldly, sounding as if his answer didn't matter but the fact that he gave an answer did. There was a moment of tense silence, then shaky laughter filled the room.

"Why should I tell you?" the man replied, his voice and eyes betraying him. "You're not going to kill me."

She pressed more firmly on the blade, and the tip of it dug into the flesh of the man's neck so that it drew blood. He tried to back away, but was trapped firmly between her and the wall.

"Try me," she said derisively, moving ever closer.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew in through the open window, and it knocked the slender feather off the table. It whipped at her torn dress and made her squint her eyes, but she lost all concentration as the feather fluttered in her face and glided gently to stroke her cheek. She gasped as she felt its feather-soft touch: the caress was warm. And in that split second where she had let her guard slip, she had been roughly knocked aside and her captor had escaped through the window. Cursing herself for her negligence, she strapped her dagger firmly above her knee and placed the feather back on the table.

"What is with you?" she spoke more to herself than to the feather as she settled it down neatly on the table. "First you help me, then you distract me and let him get away?" The room was jarringly silent now, dark and looming. Only the wind, haunted by a phantom, made a sound to answer her question. The noise it made sent her heart racing.

She fled.

*******************

A commotion arose as the doors to the dance hall were thrown open, and a messenger, bloody and worn, stumbled through, falling onto the floor. His clothes were muddy and torn, and visible cuts that had not yet healed continued to bleed. His eyes were wild and frantic, searching but never seeing anything in front of him. He mumbled incoherently to the guard at the door, who was desperately trying to drag him out. Whispers circulated around guests as they stared at the unfolding scene.

"No! Must… the king…"

Van, who had been murmuring something quietly to Hitomi moments before, broke off his conversation and quickly stepped forward. Bending down to talk to the fallen guard, he regarded him gravely but his voice was firm.

"What is your message? What's happened?"

The soldier coughed weakly and struggled to lift himself off the ground. Van put a hand under his head to help support him.

"Maj—majesty…"

"Forget that," Van said harshly. "Save your strength. Tell me, soldier, what's happened?"

"Z—Zaibach…" he whispered feebly, fighting to breathe. Behind him, Van heard Hitomi gasp softly. "Hierarch… killed…at—attack… Western bor—der…"

A collective intake of breath shot through the crowd.

"Are you saying that the Hierarch of Zaibach has been killed and they've declared war?" Van demanded, his voice taking a steely edge. The soldier nodded almost imperceptibly. It confirmed his worst fears. "Guard!" he barked at the young man standing transfixed. "Relay messages to all the troops to prepare for battle. Gather my advisors and generals and tell them—"

"No…" the messenger whispered softly.

"What?" Van snapped, more harshly than he'd intended.

"The attack… Asturia…"

He turned around to see Allen, grim-faced and pale, and Millerna, wide-eyed and trembling. For a brief instant, magenta eyes of one King met cerulean eyes of another. And in that moment, they truly understood each other for the first time.

*******************

"Jaiden has reported back, sire," he reported stoically, knowing that it would mean nothing but trouble.

"And he was unsuccessful, am I correct?" His superior's voice sounded clipped, harsh.

"Yes, sir. He showed potential, but has proved to be a disappointment."

"The same could almost be said about you, Daleth," his Master intoned, turning to face him as his eyes flashed fury. "Why haven't you carried out my plan, Daleth?" he said in a tone of sadness and pleading, wringing his hands and walking closer to his subordinate. "You know how important this is to me." This bit was said with conviction and an underlying threat.

"Yes, sire," he replied, now standing face to face with his Master with their faces only inches away from each other. The redhead still stared unseeingly in front of him as he felt his superior's eyes surveying him the whole time.

The other man leaned forward, whispering in Daleth's ear. "You know what I want, don't you?" he asked softly, sensually, the warmth of his breath tickling the side of Daleth's neck.

Daleth took a shuddering breath before replying. "Yes, sire," he replied, all the muscles in his body tense and the tension all building up in one place…

"Good," he whispered again, before pulling away. "I expect to see results next time. Dismissed." 

*******************

It proved to be more difficult than she thought to be able to find anybody within the palace. The hallways were deserted and when she reached the dance hall, she found it to be completely empty but with everything in its place. The doctor's room, which she had visited earlier to get her cut tended to, was also abandoned. Things were upturned as if someone wanted to leave in hurry, but she was grateful for the mess; at least it established that not everybody just disappeared without a trace.

After getting some brownish liquid, an antiseptic of some sort, on her cut and putting a bandage securely over it, she set off to find any living soul she could. Wandering around aimlessly for a while and finding everything desolate, she decided to try her luck outside. She reasoned with herself that there _had_ to be someone there; the square was so crowded before that it would've been a near miracle to get from one side to the other. Just as she was about to open the doors, they swung inward of their own accord and sent her stumbling back to keep from being hit.

"Princess Varie, are you all right?" She heard someone ask, the masculine voice filled with shock and concern. Looking up, she saw that she was face to face with Lord Eronai, her Father's personal advisor, and saw a troop of guards behind him.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, wondering why he was looking at her so strangely. Only then did she remember that she must look a mess, with her shorn dress revealing far too much of her legs than was appropriate and the bandage on her shoulder giving off the impression of a severe wound. "It's a long story," she said simply. "Where is everyone?"

Eronai looked as though he were about to protest at her inadequate answer, but instead answered her question.

"A messenger arrived, shortly after you left, and informed us that the Hierarch of Zaibach has been killed and they've declared war. Apparently they've already begun to attack Asturia."

"What?! How did this happen?"

"We don't yet know," he said grimly, never taking his hazel eyes off her. "The Royal Family of Asturia has already left on a leviship not too long ago. His Majesty is rallying the troops to support Asturia. Everyone has been sent home."

She was about to ask another question, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Please, Varie," he implored her, only one of the few times he hadn't used her title when in the company of others, "I can't explain everything right now. There's an emergency counsel meeting that I have to get to. But first, tell me briefly what happened."

"I was attacked, but it's nothing serious."

"That's where you and I differ in opinion, Varie. The fact that you were attacked on the same night as this declaration of war seems to be too much of a coincidence. I want you to be escorted back to your room and to stay there, until someone comes for you."

"No! I'm going to attend that counsel meeting with you."

"Varie, for the sake of your safety…"

"I'll be far safer in a room full of generals," she countered defiantly. Eronai sighed wearily.

"Fine. If you wish to attend, so be it. I'll have guards escort you to your room and then to the briefing room."

"There's no need for me to go to my room. We could go straight to the briefing room together."

Eronai made a delicate sort of sound, smiling slightly. "I believe you'll want a change of clothing before you go anywhere more public," he said as inoffensively as he could.

Varie flushed. "Right," she said, feeling her cheeks burn. "See you there, then."

Lord Eronai walked away from her, leaving her behind with two guards. She stared after him for a bit, and then headed to her room as well. No one noticed the pair of ice grey eyes watching the whole scene. Nor did they notice the thin pillar of light in the distance as the large double doors were closing.

*******************

_Author's Notes:_ Anyone ever see Trigun? Darn good show for those of you who haven't. I highly recommend it. Anyways, what I'm trying to do with Daleth and his 'Master' (who I will not reveal just yet), is create a similar relationship like that of Knives/Legato. The only difference is that Daleth is a bit more independent and has ambitions of his own.

Anyways, this is my transition chapter. After this it should be lots of fight scenes and things like that. Sorry this took so long; what with loss of inspiration and HP #5 being thicker than a dictionary, writing didn't really assert itself until now. BUT… you'll be happy to know that I finally conjured up a **PLOT** for this story! YAY!!! I've always had the beginning and end in mind, but never the middle. I think I've conquered that hurdle now, so be ready for some ass kicking!

Thank yous go out to Raye-Rei, DestinyBabee, and Meghanna Starsong, for reviewing the last chapter and for always giving me feedback throughout this entire ordeal. Thanks for sticking with me this far; hope you see it all the way through.

Check out _'Petals'_ and watch for the next chapter soon.

~Seeress


	11. Abduction, Abduction

The Way Things Were

Standard disclaimer applies 

©Seeress 2003

*******************

The Way Things Were

Chapter 10

Duchess Celena stood in her thin nightgown and robe, staring out of the foggy windows of the _Contender_, watching the wispy clouds and twinkling stars that were outside. She couldn't believe the events that had happened in merely an hour; one minute, she was having the time of her life, dancing the night away; the next, the party is broken by a dying messenger who brings news of an attack on her brother's country and they race back to defend it. And here she was, being sent home so that she could be kept _safe_. For once, she didn't want to be treated like such a child. Her place was by Allen's side, giving him encouragement and support. Yet she was being carted away again, back home and far from danger. Why didn't Allen trust her? What was it that she didn't know?

She knew somehow that his attitude of being overly protective had spawned from the period of time that was blank in her memory. Her earliest childhood memory, the one with her Mother and Allen in the field of flowers, was clear and vivid in her mind. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the breeze running through her hair and the smell of the flowers dancing on air. Her one and only childhood memory was in that field, because she remembered nothing for the next ten years. The only recollections of that missing decade was the jade necklace that hung around her neck and the vague memory of the word 'Jajuka.' Who or what 'Jajuka' was, she didn't know, but since she seemed to recall kind eyes, she assumed 'Jajuka' was a person. Sometimes, she had nightmares to which she awoke in a cold sweat. When she closed her eyes, red, bloodthirsty orbs would fill her vision, and they would be accompanied by a manic, blood-chilling laugh.

Sighing as she shook the image out of her head, lackadaisically playing with the chain around her neck, she continued to watch the dark clouds roll by. It was very late in the night, and she was weary beyond belief, but even her nightmare-filled sleep would not be granted to her. She turned when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, wondering who could be up so late, and came face to face with none other than Gaddess.

"Duchess," he said with a slight tilt of his head. "It seems to be a habit of yours to roam the ship at ungodly hours."

He had said it in a light tone, and she knew it was intended to be a joke, but she found that she couldn't laugh when he had that look in his eyes,

"I couldn't sleep," she replied, managing a half-smile and turning slightly towards him. "You?"

"I haven't tried to sleep yet," he said, moving closer to her and laying a hand on the glass. "But I don't think I'll have much luck either." He stared out at the night sky, and she took time to study his profile. She tore her gaze away as he turned to look at her, and shivered slightly at the chill.

"You're cold," Gaddess said automatically, grabbing her gently by the shoulders and rubbing her arms with both his hands, pulling her closer as he did so. She had wrapped her arms about herself to keep warm, and she looked questioningly up at him as he went about warming her up. That force inside her was starting to stir.

After a while, she stopped shivering, standing almost literally in his arms. He seemed to notice but made no attempt to move away, which she took as a good sign. Smiling faintly, she reached up to brush a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. Her hand lingered as their gazes met and locked, and she saw with happiness that his eyes no longer held that look. Battling the force inside herself, she was almost on the verge of being steered away from him when he reached up and took hold of her hand, entwining his fingers with her own. Then, looking at her as if nothing else in the world mattered, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers.    

A few things happened in rapid succession just as the two were sharing their moment of intimacy.

A loud bang echoed through the empty hallway as the ceiling to the leviship shook and the dim lights flickered briefly. Immediately following that, the whole ship suddenly slanted to one side, throwing the startled pair hurtling from the window to slam into the opposite wall and to fall crumpled onto the ground. Then there came a dreadful creaking and wrenching sound from above, as if someone were trying to pry the roof off with giant hands.

Gaddess had wrapped his arms around her and shielded her with his body as they crashed into the wall, taking the brunt of the force. As soon as the awful wrenching had ceased, he raised his head hesitantly off the ground and loosened his hold on her.

"Celena," he called to her softly. "Celena, are you alright?"

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she had to blink several times to clear her vision. She raised her hand slowly to the throbbing lump on her head. She knew she was bleeding when her fingers came into contact with a sticky liquid. Focussing her vision on Gaddess's face, she saw that his eyes held concern.

"Gaddess…" she murmured softly, closing her eyes again as the world started to spin.

"Celena!" he called to her urgently. "Celena, don't fall asleep. I'll get help, and you'll be all right again in no time, ok?"

Her eyes snapped open. "You called me Celena," she said, trying her best to smile. "You haven't called me that in a long time…"

He smiled at her reassuringly, and she tried to keep her eyes open so that she could see that smile forever. Her head was throbbing painfully, and drowsiness swept over her. She faintly felt Gaddess lift her up and carry her in his arms.

_No!_ she thought in despair. _Gaddess wants me to stay awake… I have to stay awake… awake…_

All of a sudden, the glass of the window broke as a long, sharp metal beam shot through it. The sound of the impact snapped her awake again, as well as the shard of glass that pierced the skin of her ankle. She saw that a large shard had embedded itself in Gaddess's arm, and he staggered slightly, unable to support the weight of two people. She saw a guymelef materialise out of thin air outside the broken window, and it reached an arm out towards them. Gaddess put her down beside the wall and drew his sword, ready to fight against the intruder. But he had only his sword, and the hand of the melef brushed him aside as if he were an insect, sending him into the wall for the second time. Fully awake by now, Celena quickly rushed over to her fallen lover, her concern more dominant than her common sense.

"Gaddess?" she asked timidly, shaking his shoulder to wake him. "Gaddess, please wake up. Gad—ahhhhh!"

Just as he was starting to stir, the hand of the guymelef had reached through the broken glass and seized a hold of her body. Clinging on desperately to anything solid, she grasped Gaddess's arm as the melef was pulling her away.

"NO!" she heard him cry, as she lost her grip on his arm just as he was reaching out to grab her. Instead, his hand managed to snatch the smooth jade necklace, and he jerked the chain off her neck.

The last thing she heard as she was carried away into the night was his echoing cry of anguish.

*******************

All faces at the table turned to face her as she entered. Feeling slightly self-conscious but determined, she walked purposefully to the end of the table, and took the vacant seat beside her father. Van had jumped out of his chair as soon as the doors had opened, anxious to see his daughter after Eronai had reported what had happened to her. His fears were slightly eased at the sight of her serenity and lack of visible wounds. The lords and generals around the table had also risen and inclined their heads respectfully as she passed. 

"Are you alright?" he whispered to her softly, so that only she could hear. Her response was an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

Only after she had taken her seat did everyone else return to theirs. Then, in a ringing voice that was steely and uncharacteristically cold, she asked,

"So, what are our plans?"

*******************

No longer did drowsiness cloud her mind. The evening air was cool and moist, and she soon began to shiver. Her eveningwear provided no protection from the lashing of the wind, and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. Her head was throbbing painfully, but as far as she could tell the bleeding had stopped. She had pulled the glass out of her ankle, and had wrapped it tightly with a piece of her dress that she had torn off. Earlier, she had tried to get a sense of where she was being taken, but the guymelefs had taken high into the sky and there was nothing on which she could base her observations. She gave up on the attempt completely when the melefs had donned their invisibility cloaks and obscured her vision, but that had given away their identity.

Zaibach.

To which she was trying to figure out the reason for their unprompted attack. There had been peace on Gaea for two decades; uneasy peace, admittedly, but what agreement did not have its strains? They had been airborne for a long time, and just as she thought she really would lose consciousness, the melef holding her landed with an abrupt thud and she had to cling onto one of the machine's gigantic fingers to keep from falling. The invisibility cloaks were drawn aside, revealing armed escorts that had been waiting for them. Feeling slightly nervous, she drew her robe more securely around her shoulders, and folded her arms protectively around her chest.

Blindfolded, she was led through a maze of never-ending corridors, her ankle throbbing painfully with every step. Right, left, left again, another right, through a door, right, down some stairs, one more door… she tried to memorize the path, but it became too difficult. She was nervous enough walking without seeing where she was going and having the tip of a sword poke her in the back and urge her to go faster. Finally, after what seemed like countless hours of walking, someone shouted a harsh command and she could hear a door being jerked open creakily. Someone grabbed her head roughly and undid the blindfold, but a moment later she wished they hadn't.

It wasn't so much a room as it was a great pit. There was no floor, and the bottom of the colossal crater must've been at least ten or fifteen stories down. She had never seen anything so large! There were torches lit and set at intervals high up on the walls, but they didn't provide enough light to illuminate the base of the pit, which was pitch black. From where she was standing, there was only a narrow wooden bridge leading to a large circular cage, much like that of a bird's, except large enough for a human to fit into. The sword once again prodded her and she turned around to see the face of her capture twisted into a sick smile. 

What were her chances of knocking the sword from his hand and pushing him into the pit? She thought better against it. Even if she did somehow manage to disarm her captor and push him in, there were undoubtedly other guards around and she had no idea how to get out. It would only anger the guard if she tried and failed, and she had no reservations in thinking that he would have no hesitation killing her. So, gulping down the lump in her throat and taking in a deep breath, she put one unsteady foot onto the creaky boards of the bridge.

It was when she was about halfway along when she chanced a glance down into the blackness beneath her that she caught sight of two yellow orbs staring back at her. Stifling a scream, she squinted further down and tried to make out what it was that was there. If she'd thought that there was nothing worse than the void underneath, she was clearly wrong. In the dim firelight, she had been able to discern a huge shape: long tail, expansive lungs, sharp teeth, glinting scales. It was undoubtedly a dragon. Praying to any religious beings she could think of and hoping to anything that it was a land dragon, she threw caution to the wind and practically sprinted the rest of the way there. Once inside, the cage door closed behind her of its own accord and the bridge was lifted. The door in which she had entered also closed and cut off the strongest supply of light, blending indiscernibly with the wall.

Only after a few moments did she realize that she was not alone in her cell. Furthest away from her and up against the bars of the cage was another person. She was sure it was a man, and she walked closer to him slowly, cautious of what she might find. He was bundled up in thick clothes, and his hair was dirty and matted.

"Hey," she said softly, trying to get his attention. "Can you hear me?" she asked, taking another step forward. "Are you awake?"

Scared now that he was already dead, she took a few quick steps and closed the distance between them. Not wanting to touch him, she tentatively put two fingers under his chin and tilted his head up. His face was bloodied and dirty, but she was relieved to see that he was still breathing. She studied him more closely, his face seeming so familiar to her, and his identity finally struck her full in the face.

She let out a gasp of surprise.

*******************

_Lucky the messenger got there early,_ Allen thought to himself. _It gave us time to get back and mount a defence._

The King of Asturia stood waiting for the _Contender_ to return from its trip to deliver the Duke and Duchess safely home. He needed to send the ship to warn the other nations, and to deliver a special message to Van in Fanelia. As the ship came into view, he could tell that something was wrong. It was barely flying, the left wing had been torn, and one of the engines was badly damaged. He felt his heart constrict with fear.

Celena… 

The _Contender_ landed brokenly on the docks of Asturia. Up close, the leviship looked even worse than it did in the sky. As soon as the doors had opened, Dryden sprang out, looking ashen-faced and shaken. It confirmed his worst fear.

"They—they took her," he whispered quietly, meeting Allen's eyes but not quite seeing him. Looking past his shaken brother-in-law, he saw that someone was being carried out on a stretcher.

"Gaddess!" he cried, and brushed past the still-shocked Dryden to reach his best friend. Gaddess wasn't in much better shape than the ship.

"Gaddess," he said again, reaching his friend's side.

"A-Allen…" Gaddess managed to croak through his parched lips, opening his eyes a crack to see his friend's face. "I'm sor-sorry… I-I tried… to stop them…bu-but…"

"Save your strength," Allen said gently. "I know you did your best. We'll get her back."

He watched guiltily as Gaddess was carted away. _It should've been me who had to fight to save Celena. It was never his responsibility. Little sister, I've let you down again…_

"Your Majesty!"

He was snapped from his thoughts with an insistent call. "Your Majesty!"

A messenger was riding hard towards him, out of breath and looking frightened. _What now?_ He thought to himself, but turned and signalled for the messenger to step forward.

"Urgent news, sire," he said, bowing as he did so. "A few days ago, Duke Chid of Freid was kidnapped."

To be continued… 


End file.
